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The Music Preview Guide to SXSW 2020
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We all have our own ways of finding new music. Playlists can lead you down an interesting road and streaming service suggestions can drop a jewel in your hand sometimes. But, music is personal and new discoveries lead to connection and interaction… with humans. We’ve cut out the middleman and have gone back to basics by asking some of our most trusted humans from around the world to tell us who they are most excited to see at SXSW 2020.
I’d like to thank this year’s contributors for the time and effort spent on highlighting this year’s up-and-coming artists alongside some of our already known all-time faves. (Yes, I mean Wire.)
James Minor
Head of SXSW Music Festival
Cambridge, UK-ENGLAND Avant / Experimental
After attending The Great Escape in 2019, I came back with a renewed hope on upcoming English rock music (something I hadn’t been interested in for a while). Squid and Dry Cleaning were present, but the ones who shocked me the most were Black Country, New Road. This 7-piece arty post-hardcore band sound far from any current hype and even further from anything immediately gratifying or radio-friendly. Their music recalls the dryness and anxiety of some of my favourite 90s bands. However, despite most of the indie-rock and post-hardcore acts sounding like renewed versions of their influences, Black Country, New Road have defined their own character adding beautiful melodies of violin and saxophone and certain Eastern folkloric vibe to the mix. With just two tracks released but tons of intensely breathtaking shows, they have become one of the most interesting and promising acts of the moment.
Pau Cristòful Lozano is a dynamic and highly motivated person, and music and culture lover. Pau Cristòful Lozano has been organizing concerts and working as a music journalist since he was 14 years old. Pau Cristòful Lozano currently works as a Booking Agent at Primavera Sound, Nitsa Club and MUTEK Barcelona.
Nashville, TN Rock
Sad girls with guitars are back in vogue — and why shouldn’t they be? When you’ve got artists like Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers and most importantly Soccer Mommy, it’s easy to see why there’s a resurgence in soft voices and solitary guitars. But just because she fits into a niche doesn’t mean that Soccer Mommy is a one trick pony. Recent tracks like “Cool”, from her excellent 2018 album Clean, veer into noisier realms with jangling guitars and washed out vocals. This versatility is on full display on “MASS GRAVE,” her phenomenal collaboration with L.A. noise rock group HEALTH. Tracks like these help to prove that Soccer Mommy has a lot more to give fans than just another soft voice and guitar. There’s no telling how much she has yet to evolve as an artist but the blueprint is there and it’s undeniably promising.
Drew Pitt is a dedicated music journalist and multidisciplinary writer based in Los Angeles, California. His primary specialities are album and festival / concert coverage. His album reviews have garnered praise from a number of artists for their detail and accuracy. At live events he is able to leverage his knowledge as a Project Manager and Creative Director to comment on the music, performance, and event production with clarity and authority. Drew Pitt currently resides in Los Angeles, CA where he enjoys the lovely weather, and picturesque beaches, but most importantly the constant flow of live music that takes place every night of the week.
Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS Dance
Since their EP Down In The Basement, the Mauskovic Dance Band has brought their enticing cross-over of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, cumbia and space disco across world stages, selling out venues and providing a full dancing experience with a very hypnotic twist. The five members of this Amsterdam-based band are no strangers to experimentation, relying on their knowledge while reinterpreting elements of 60s and 70s Afro-Latin psychedelia through a modern, European approach. The result is in a bombastic mixture of effusive sounds. Released under London-based label Soundway Records, their self-produced debut album The Mauskovic Dance Band keeps inherent their curiosity to explore new sounds and rhythms. As they further navigate through cosmic soundscapes in a unique blend of psychedelic cumbia, chichi, classic afrobeat and picó, and so much more, the inevitable willingness to keep dancing is a constant in their performances and vision.
Francisco Gonçalves Silva is a Lisbon-born music journalist, copywriter and marketer with a background in music, tech and cultural/event management. Based in Berlin, he currently works as PR & Communications Manager for Piranha Arts, an independent creative company best known for organizing WOMEX — the World Music Expo — the most international music meeting in the world and the biggest conference of the global music scene.
Boston, MA Rock
Overtly sexual and decked out in avant-garde experimental noise band, Model/Actriz packs an absolute verbal sucker-punch. Formed in Boston, the band is far apart from the New England city’s Puritan roots. Throughout their discography, they effortlessly blend together bits and pieces of post-punk, noise, and even dance, creating a genre frenzy that’s anything but tame. “I wanna f*ck you forever,” lead-singer Cole Haden bites on one of their more well-known tracks, “Matador,” and you can’t help but want to return the sentiment — you’ve become utterly entranced. In a live setting, the band writhes around on stage, flinging themselves from corner to corner and creating an absolute riot in their wake. Their music, their presence, their aura has an attractive quality unlike any other; it’s as if they’re living, breathing art. Model/Actriz’s latest EP No was released in 2017 and considering the time that’s since elapsed, there’s no question that we’re collectively itching for more — keep an ear open for their next sonic revelation.
Alt Citizen is a New York and LA-based music and culture blog, zine, and event promoter.
Palo Alto, CA Pop
Remi Wolf is here to take over the world with her unique brand of sardonic, self-reflective hip-hop infused pop. “Shawty” combines Wolf’s angelic vocals with hip-hop and Caribbean influences and sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack for a hot summer, female-led blockbuster that just hasn’t come out yet. Her latest single “Bad Behavior” is a collaboration with Austin Millz where we get to see more of Wolf’s crooner and R & B sides. Her buttery-smooth vocals on this track are reminiscent of an early Rihanna. Be sure to keep an eye on Remi Wolf as she continues to break ahead of the pack.
We Found New Music (WFNM) is a music discovery and culture curation brand founded and developed by Grant Owens, who’s been instrumental in building artists careers. As a live showcase, content series, radio show, and blog, WFNM has been the first point of promotion for several of today’s top artists. With early interviews and in studio performances by the likes of Billie Eilish, Yungblud, Kim Petras, LAUV and Bishop Briggs, WFNM is widely regarded throughout the music industry as a trend defining brand, and Owens’ curation and personal taste has established him as a well respected oracle of the best upcoming pop, rock and R&B artists. WFNM has been presenting its popular showcases since 2014, converting to a weekly residency format in 2018. The nearly 1,000 attendees per month are treated to what is often the first ever LA live appearance by tomorrow’s buzzworthy talent, including Finneas, Allie X, Stephen Puth, HAMZAA, and Maddie Medley, as well as private invitation-only sets by major artists like Sigrid, Stephen Malkmus, & Yokelore. WFNM has also presented an official SXSW showcase in Austin for the past six years. More at WEFOUNDNEWMUSIC.COM.
Copenhagen, DENMARK R & B
Erika de Casier’s debut Essentials is by far the most underrated album of of 2019. Anyone who grew up in the 90s would find something to fall in love with on this album, it’s just hit after hit and one the reveals more intricacies with every listen. Essentials is a title that may have seemed audacious for a debut until you actually sit down and listen to it. TLC, Sade, Aaliyah, G-funk stabs, smokey R&B, expertly naive lyrics — it’s all there and while the influences are crystal clear, the innovation is even clearer. Through Erika’s reinterpretations of the 90s, we get both the chance to revisit the feeling of that time while also getting a refreshing commentary of our modern world. This music, in its own simple way, epitomizes the contemporary female experience while transporting us back to when things were simpler. For the past several years, she has been affiliated with the Danish house collective Regelbau, lending her voice to tracks by DJ Central and DJ Sports and performing as one half of soul duo Saint Cava. On her debut solo release under her own name, she’s taken on a much more personal sound. It truly is liking going to the club with an old friend. If you see one act at SXSW, make it Erika de Casier.
Amelia Jenner is FBi Radio’s Music Director and the third to be appointed since the station launched in 2003. Now in its 17th year, FBi Radio is an independent youth broadcaster dedicated to the music, arts & culture of Sydney. FBi Radio plays 50% Australian music, with half of that from Sydney. As Music Director, Amelia is responsible for shaping the sound of FBi Radio through music programming, interviews and all music-focused content on-air and online.
London, UK-ENGLAND Dance
Having only been kicking around London’s live circuit for 18 months, PVA’s buzz is one that’s risen fast — in tandem with the trio’s own rapidly-increasing confidence. Amping up the club-ready aspects, they might look like an indie band but they’ve more in common with a bunch of rave-heads — with relentless, spiralling beats and propulsive mantras, their finest wares veer almost into techno territory. Singer Ella Harris’ speak-sing vocals emphasizes the post-punk influences, but while PVA can happily sit on a bill alongside more traditional band set-ups, they’d fit just as well at the drug-addled 3am apex of a warehouse party. It’s sometimes punishing, but in the best way — when James Murphy instructed us all to dance ourselves clean, he probably had a cathartic bop to something like theirs in mind.
Lisa Wright is the Features Editor and Head of Live Bookings at DIY Magazine – a UK-based monthly music print title and website with an online reach of 1 million unique users/month. She has interviewed people including Paul McCartney, Iggy Pop and The 1975, and has booked festival stages at multiple events in the UK and USA.
Houston, TX Hip-Hop / Rap
Praise from Houston legends like Scarface, Bun B, and Slim Thug have made Propain one of the most promising candidates to become the 3rd Coast’s next superstar. Without a major label, Propain has been able to maneuver through the industry with quality albums and crisp visuals. His vocal tone commands listeners’ ears, drawing them into his world while his southern drawl coats each lyric. Though his influences include Jay-Z and Nas, Propain’s ability to provide commentary about his community, in addition to preaching about the importance of self-reliance and ownership, could easily earn him a title as the Nipsey Hussle of the south. Though his less-than-ideal life experiences as an adult have created a tough exterior, he is versatile enough to show flashes of vulnerability, specifically on songs like “Dear Jada” – a heartfelt cut off of his latest project, In Case We Never Speak Again, about the positive impact his daughter has had on his life.
Ogden Payne is a contributing writer at Forbes.com documenting the business models of today’s top hip-hop artists, record labels, and digital streaming services. He has collaborated on articles with Chance the Rapper, Migos, and Dreamville Records, as well as industry professionals such as Dre London (Manager, Post Malone) and Chris Zarou (Manager, Logic & CEO, Visionary Music Group). In 2017, Payne founded For The Students, a company dedicated to bridging the gap between students and the music industry. Since its inception, For The Students has hosted live Q&As with top-tier music industry professionals at NYU, University of Maryland, the University of Texas, Florida State University and more.
London, UK-ENGLAND World
London-based Los Bitchos are playing music unlike anyone else. This five-piece describes themselves as “instrumental psychedelic sunshine cumbia” which, if you hear that mixture in your head, is incredibly spot on. Bridging the gap between rock and the pulsing beat of Cumbia — their music injects the listener with a groovy boost of energy. All of their tracks are completely instrumental — some of which are reminiscent of early Rodrigo y Gabriela, with a garage rock edge. For fans of Khruangbin and Kikagaku Moyo: SXSW will be their first time performing in the United States, so make sure you take the time to seek them out!
Alex Berenson is the Head of A&R for Vinyl Me, Please and oversees curation across the brand, as well as runs the emerging and developing artist program, VMP Rising. She currently resides in New York City.
London, UK-ENGLAND Electronic
Glaswegian producer, singer, songwriter and label head Sega Bodega completed a two year arc of self-discovery and transformation by announcing his debut album Salvador for release in February 2020. He heads up the acclaimed NUXXE label with the equally-impressive Shygirl, both of who had a huge 2019. Bodega has had a creative hand in countless projects, working with artists like Oklou and Cosima. His most famed, however, would be his production work on Shygirl’s track ‘BB’ which topped many end-of-year, best-of lists including Dazed, Fader, FACT and The Guardian. But it’s on his 2018 solo EP self*care where he really shines. It’s a highly accomplished body of work that recalls the early works of SOPHIE and Amnesia Scanner, while adding the uniquely Sega Bodega touch. R&B morphed with kinetic club music and a lace of gremlin-like vocals makes self*care one of the more interesting experimental releases of recent times, and a sign of very exciting things to come.
Amelia Jenner is FBi Radio’s Music Director and the third to be appointed since the station launched in 2003. Now in its 17th year, FBi Radio is an independent youth broadcaster dedicated to the music, arts & culture of Sydney. FBi Radio plays 50% Australian music, with half of that from Sydney. As Music Director, Amelia is responsible for shaping the sound of FBi Radio through music programming, interviews and all music-focused content on-air and online.
Tepic, MEXICO Rock
Sierra León has made their name as one of the most interesting Latin rock acts to see live. A psychedelic five-piece from Tepic, Nayarit, they describe themselves as travelling on a journey of constant experimentation. Mixing electronic and classical rock music with African rhythms and jazzy structures in dark, yet passionate songs, they ultimately find their most brilliant moments when showing the influence of traditional Mexican art and music. This is especially present on their most recent EP Hipersomnia pt 1 (2018), which tells the tale of a character who takes refuge in his dreams after a romantic disappointment and searches his conscience for direction in love and life.
Oscar Adame is a 23 year old music journalist based in Mexico City. Today he works as the Music Editor in Chief of WARP Magazine, one of the most well known specialized media outlets in Latin America. Oscar Adame has published interviews with artists such as Gorillaz, Rosalía, Billie Eilish, The National, Björk and more. Currently, he is working with one clear objective: to eliminate classist prejudices against reggaeton music.
Lake Worth, FL Hip-Hop / Rap
South Florida hip-hop has become known for loud personalities and even louder music. Unlike his Florida peers Ski Mask The Slump God, Lil Pump, Denzel Curry and Kodak Black, rising rapper $NOT is keeping a relatively low profile. In an interview with Pigeons & Planes he described his music as “hella chill,” and he pulls his hoodie drawstrings so tight that his full face is rarely exposed. His vocal style is sedate and his beat selections are hypnotizing, but when it comes to his live show, expect things to get rowdy. $NOT makes an effort to get his fans involved, and after a barrage of underground hit singles like “Moon & Stars,” “GOSHA,” “BERETTA,” and “MEGAN,” his fans should be more engaged than ever in 2020.
Jacob Moore started Pigeons & Planes in his bedroom over 10 years ago. He loves music that pushes boundaries, and he still listens to song submissions every day.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA Rock
Psychedelic garage rockers DTSQ are well set to add volumes to the city of Austin’s smile count for all who catch them in March. The Seoul-based foursome douse blues-based riffs and rhythmic breakdowns with a cartoonishly luminous goo, coming up with a drippy, tripped out sound brimming with bright, searing energy. Their 2017 debut LP Neon-Coloured Milky Way set the course on their sonic adventures, powered by hypnotic melodies and good times. Highly accessible with just the right amount of quirk, if Garbage Pail Kids came with a soundtrack, it would seem implausible that this wouldn’t be it.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Justin Sweeting has over eighteen years music industry experience, centered within Asia. Having established the pan-regional, cross media platform AMP (Asia’s Music Platform) for Channel [V], Justin went on to co-found Magnetic Asia as Music Director. Magnetic Asia operates festivals & events: Clockenflap, Sonar Hong Kong, YourMum, Ticketing; and offers further agency services to a broad reach of clients including digital marketing, PR, production and consultancy. Connecting the dots between Asia and the global industry at large, Justin enjoys spreading the word on the region’s music potential and is actively involved in its positive evolution.
Toronto, CANADA Electronic
In 2017, when Lido Pimienta won the prestigious Polaris Prize (and the $50,000 that came with it) her album La Papessa became the first Spanish-language LP to take Canada’s top musical honor. Its title translates to “The High Priestess” and she’s embodied that persona at every turn, leading a movement towards inclusion and diversity in Toronto’s music scene while also branching out into visual arts as curator and creator. Having spent her teens in punk and metal bands protesting the Colombian government, Pimienta has retained that same sense of urgency while exploiting the malleability of electronic production in service of her politically charged messages, which drive both her lyrics and her dialogue with live audiences. Now, Pimienta returns with Miss Colombia, a collection of songs (out in April) that reckon with her status as a Colombian immigrant, her Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Wayuu roots, and queer desire. Her rousing electro-Cumbia pulses as a three-piece with Pimienta’s ardent soprano backed by traditional percussion and modern synth — be prepared to dance.
Lindsey Rhoades is the founding Editor-In-Chief of AudioFemme. She has written for The Village Voice, Stereogum, Brooklyn Magazine, Impose, Complex, and others. You can often find her playing pinball in dive bars and laundromats around Brooklyn.
Brooklyn, NY Avant / Experimental
New York’s No Wave scene was easy listening only for sadists, and nobody embodied that like Lydia Lunch. With her solo work, her spoken word records, and her infamous early group, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, she turned macho rock posturing on its head and thrashed it around for her pleasure. The Jerks in particular were too punk for punk, mincing neither words nor terse guitars. She appeared on Sonic Youth’s “Death Valley ’69,” one of their hardest tracks in no small part due to her presence, and also recorded a series of albums with late Birthday Party guitarist Roland S. Howard, most notably 1991’s noise rock landmark Shotgun Wedding. Despite her resume, Lunch hates resting on laurels: she produced Philly punks Pissed Jeans’ 2017 smash “Why Love Now,” and her current group, Lydia Lunch Retrovirus proves that classic, squally, noisy New York confrontation isn’t dead.
Andy O’Connor is a writer based in Austin, Texas. He covers metal, hardcore, noise, and other forms of non-music, with bylines in Pitchfork, Vice, the Austin American-Statesman, Decibel, Kerrang!, Bandcamp Daily, and more. When not damaging his ears and his well-being, you can find him vigorously breaking down Mountain Dew flavors, scouring the internet for bootleg shirts, or plotting to take down the El Arroyo sign.
Leeds, UK-ENGLAND Rock
Leeds-based trio Far Caspian was started as a solo project of the Irish multi-instrumentalist and producer Joel Johnston. The band’s notable bedroom pop sound is attractive for its longing yet upbeat chords and skippy backing beats. Two successful EPs in the past two years have exalted the group into the indie music scene limelight. 2019’s The Heights serves as a prime example of how Far Caspian’s music can cause listeners to run awash with wistful feelings of romantic regret and yet still want to dance. It’s a truly sensational ride. It’s the soundtrack that will be playing when you’re running to meet a lost lover. It’s Far Caspian.
We believe humans are better than robots at discovering new music.
Austin, TX R & B
Nestled down in the capitol of Texas is an artist with an inherent star quality that has separated them from the rest of the pack — the Midwest-born, Austin, TX native soul singer, Alesia Lani. With a distinctive soulful voice combined with electrifying performances Alesia Lani has built up a lore all her own that keeps her in high demand. With her undeniable star quality, the southern songstress has officially put everyone on high alert that she is here to stay.
Aaron “Fresh” Knight is a media personality, who is currently working as a radio personality for KUTX 98.9 in Austin, TX. He co-hosts Austin’s top Hip Hop and R&B radio show, The Breaks. Knight runs his own top rated music blog with, Fresh Prince of the ATX, and has done some freelance writing for various platforms. Knight is community oriented by speaking to the youth of Austin at various schools, as well as working with Boys and Girls Club of the Austin Area. In 2017, Knight along with his co-host Confucius Jones, was named “Blacks in Public Media You Should Know.”
Angers, FRANCE Pop
The Blind Suns make me think of the sun, ocean breeze, surfing, and psychedelia, but never California. It’s more like Baltic and Atlantic. Maybe that’s why Charles Rowell from Crocodiles decided to produce their second album Offshore. However, the real attraction of The Blind Suns comes out when you watch their live performance. Under the influence of 60’s psych-surf and the 80’s-90’s shoegaze/dream pop era, the French-Polish duo makes a perfect chemical synergy on the stage — Dorota’s performance and attitude could be compared with Poison Ivy from The Cramps. The last time they performed at Hotel Vegas, they were discovered as one of the sexiest bands of SXSW 2018 by Irish magazine Hot Press, but that’s just a part of their show. It’s beyond sexiness.
Cecilia Soojeong Yi is the executive manager for Zandari Festa, Korea’s premier independent and international showcase festival. In 2018, she co-founded “DMZ Peace Train Music Festival”, taking charge of booking and international relationships.
Guadalajara, MEXICO Latin
If Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick from Incognito had been born in the middle of The Carnaval Of Brazil in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, I think his music would sound a lot like La Garfield. It’s hard to write about music without drawing these type of comparisons, but sometimes you just have to. La Garfield works great on so many levels. It’s happy music, made to celebrate life while having a piña colada by the beach on a warm sunset in Acapulco. With funky beats, horns and densely-harmonized chords played on a rhodes piano over latin percussion, La Garfield seems like a serious candidate to follow the legacy of latin dance giants Los Amigos Invisibles for many years to come.
Ricardo Gomez is an international talent buyer at OCESA. Ricardo Gomez participates in the music programming of Corona Capital and Corona Capital Guadalajara, while booking and promoting a wide number of shows across Mexico throughout the year.
Lagos, NIGERIA R & B
“It’s my time, and nobody can tell me nothing.” When Odunsi (The Engine) utters those words in a shimmering falsetto on “rare,” he demands your pure and undivided attention. The song is a compelling introduction to his debut album, a gem of a project that features subdued rhythms and dreamy, glorious chords. The album’s best moment arrives on “star signs,” with stirring melodies and distinctive percussion that give it endless replay value. Both a vocalist and a producer, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the man from Lagos, Nigeria, as he continues to be a torch bearer of the growing Afrofusion sound.
Kenan Draughorne is a freelance music writer based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared on sites such as DJBooth, HipHopDX, and Ones to Watch. He also serves as editor-in-chief of SLAP (See LA Prosper), a platform dedicated to showcasing all the rising talent currently making waves in the LAnd.
Brooklyn, NY Rock
Dissonance and melody are the foundation of Russian Baths. The NYC duo of Jess Rees and Luke Koz fuse the textural beauty of shoegaze and noise rock with the harshness of punk and hardcore. Their 2019 debut album Deepfake is a masterclass in tuneful foreground minimalism and ferocious background clamor. While the organized chaos of their guitars is the main event, their songs are aided by warm synths and caressing vocal harmonies — the perfect foil for their often doomy soundscapes. Aesthetically, they pull from dark clouds, sharp geometrics and rough minerals. But as moody and atmospheric as their music appears, it’s always grounded in tangible emotion.
Lizzie Manno is an assistant music editor for Paste Magazine. The Cleveland-born, Atlanta-based writer has also been published by Billboard and Cleveland Scene Magazine. Her favorite genres include indie rock, post-punk, shoegaze, punk, dream-pop, art-rock and Britpop. When she’s not watching live music, she’s fantasizing about bread, reading about progressive politics or trying to suppress her inner goofball.
Boston, MA Americana
Lula Wiles consists of three extraordinary players and singers — and none of them are named Lula. Isa Burke, Ellie Buckland and Mali Obomsawin are three friends who began collaborating in college and released their Smithsonian Folkways debut, What Will We Do in 2019. Like I’m With Her, they’re a folk group with three distinct voices and plenty to say. Their golden harmonies and game arrangements keep the music light and airy, but thematically they’re not afraid to tackle weighty topics like the exploitation of Native American stereotypes (“Good Old American Values”) and the ways the opioid crisis affects small towns (“Hometown”). They can rock out, but they can also sing sweet, soaring country love songs (and plenty of heartbreak songs, too). Their live show is energetic and engaging, and their storytelling is immediate. Their 2019 album includes a cover of Trio’s “The Pain of Loving You” — Dolly, Linda and Emmylou vibes, anyone? They’re one of a crop of emerging acoustic groups who are taking old-time traditions and sounds and refreshing them for a modern audience.
Ellen Johnson is a Paste music writer and editor based in Atlanta, Ga. She enjoys music of all kinds but especially cherishes folk, country and Americana, particularly made by southern artists. She graduated in 2018 from the University of Alabama, where she was on staff at both The Crimson White and Alice Magazine and hosted the school’s first Battle of the Bands against Ole Miss. She still cheers relentlessly for the Crimson Tide. When she’s not working, she’s probably attempting to learn the mandolin, tying to build cred on LetterBoxd or eating queso.
Philadelphia, PA Rock
After releasing a pair of albums on Polyvinyl in 2015 and 2016, James Alex’s band Beach Slang is back with their new LP The Deadbeat Bang Of Heartbreak City on hardcore label Bridge Nine. The record features blistering, brash, arena-ready rock & roll songs that recall the guitar heroics of Cheap Trick. The Philadelphia-born band has never really had a steady lineup, instead featuring a rotating cast of players from album to album. On their newest, Alex has brought in one of the biggest names from the ’80s alternative scene — bassist Tommy Stinson of The Replacements. The album’s lead single “Bam Rang Rang,” which features Stinson on bass, is filled with heart-pounding rhythms and a wailing guitar lead, with Alex’s coarse vocals shouting out the album’s titular line, “The Deadbeat Bang of Heartbreak City!” Beach Slang are no one-trick pony, with Alex releasing Everything Matters But No One is Listening in 2018 under the moniker Quiet Slang, which found him reworking the band’s punk rock sound into subdued, orchestral arrangements.
Matt has written and edited for mxdwn since 2015, the same year he began his music journalism career. Previously (and currently) a freelance copywriter, Matt graduated with a degree in Communications from California Lutheran University in 2008. Born on the Central Coast of California, Matt is currently a few hundred miles south along the 101 in the Los Angeles area.
Philadelphia, PA Rock
Frances Quinlan’s voice is like a sucker-punch to the gut, and she’s been knocking folks out with it as the frontperson of Philly indie rock act Hop Along since 2009. Erudite lyrics delivered with emotional tension have garnered a cultish following for her band over the course of three records, but the project began as a solo endeavor when Quinlan attended art school in the mid-aughts. In 2019, she returned to songwriting solo, releasing her debut LP Likewise in January of this year. Produced by Hop Along bandmate Joe Reinhart, the comparatively stripped-down compositions lend a welcome intimacy to Quinlan’s narratives, as she recounts childhood memories, interprets conversations held in dreams, and ponders the nature of human connection. Quinlan brings Likewise to life on stage with little more than a guitar and a pedal board, wry banter, a few Hop Along favorites, and maybe a cover or two, but her voice is as searing and indelible as ever.
Lindsey Rhoades is the founding Editor-In-Chief of AudioFemme. She has written for The Village Voice, Stereogum, Brooklyn Magazine, Impose, Complex, and others. You can often find her playing pinball in dive bars and laundromats around Brooklyn.
London, UK-ENGLAND Pop
Rosie Lowe has the kind of vocal delivery that makes everything else around you disappear. Releasing debut record Control in 2016 via Paul Epworth’s Wolf Tone imprint, she tackled big issues with a delicate and nuanced originality. Her songwriting is as intelligent as it is expansive, the production bringing colour into the shadows she creates with direct lyricism and subtle imagery. On new record YU she worked with a host of collaborators including long-time producer Dave Okumu, Grace Jones, Kwabs and Jessie Ware. Live, Lowe is captivating, her dynamic personality bringing a new dimension to the performance, enabling her to move from the light-hearted to viscerally arresting in seconds. Don’t be fooled thinking you know Lowe from her earlier work. She’s an artist who keeps evolving, building and surprising, and one who you should always be keeping your eye on.
Jen Long has been working in music for over a decade. She presented BBC Introducing on Radio 1, was the voice of BBC Three, and presented festival coverage for the channel. After leaving the BBC, Jen worked at DICE as Music Editor before leaving to set up her own company Take Care Management (Aaron Porter, Mammút, Melissa Parmenter), also working alongside DEF (Austra) and Straight & Narrow (Eve Owen). Jen is Contributing Editor and Partnerships Director of The Line of Best Fit.
Oslo, NORWAY Electronic
If anyone out there fondly remembers Grimes’ early appearances at SXSW, around the time she released Visions, they might want to check out Norway’s Otha. Led by front person Othalie Husoy, the duo’s three singles so far have all been absolutely top quality – an alluring mix of melancholy and ice-cold defiance that successfully merge classic pop and dance in a way that few others have in recent years (I’d put Peggy Gou, Kedr Livanskiy and Yaeji in a similar, supremely talented ballpark). Playing in London last year, Otha showcased a bunch of as-yet-unreleased material that really piqued my interest, all of it immediately hummable, all of it inspired.
Matt Wilkinson made his name as New Music Editor of NME where he reported on artists who were changing the way we listened. Matt continues mining the best new music, chronicling the whole of the UK scene, and telling the stories behind the songs of the day. Listen to Matt’s Apple Music show live for free or on-demand Mondays-Fridays at apple.co/B1_Matt.
London, UK-ENGLAND Pop
London band Babeheaven make gorgeous, weightless tunes that are anchored by genuine emotional stakes. On songs like “Seabird” and “God Sent the Baby,” singer Nancy Andersen’s voice simply floats atop the flecks of snares and warm, reverberating chords, as she sings candidly and gracefully about navigating life and love. Their two 2019 EPs, Circles and Suspended Animation, showcase the duo’s tremendous sonic versatility. Andersen and Jamie Travis (along with an additional three members for live shows) are capable of making everything from electro-inflected tunes (“Fresh Faced”) to wistful trip-hop (“Monkey Boulevard”) to glitchy experimental pop (“Sarm”) and sounding totally fluent. The beauty of Babeheaven is that you never know what’s going to change from one song to the next, making them a thrilling live act to witness.
Grant Rindner is a music journalist in New York who has written for Dazed, Rolling Stone, and Complex. He primarily reports on regional music scenes, streaming, and also serves as a freelance editor for Pigeons & Planes.
Manchester, UK-ENGLAND Pop
The Orielles are expertly tuned musicians and poets playing undercover in a shimmering indie rock band. The U.K.-based trio’s guitar solos melt down your soul while the lyrics hit you so personally in the heart that you don’t know what to do. Their most recent album Disco Volador, released Feb. 28th on Heavenly Recordings, still has a veil of their usual intensely passionate and emotional melodies, but with a funky/danceable twist. It takes you to space in a rocket full of tears, love, and curiosities. Catch them live and you’ll do more than just sway side to side.
Elena Childers was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA by a punk rock drummer from the mountains of Kentucky and a rebellious scientist from the capital of Chile. Now living in Brooklyn, NY, she’s a rebel with no cause needed and a podcast host/ music journalist for BTRtoday and Alt Citizen. Catch her backstage at all the coolest underground shows in NYC.
London, UK-ENGLAND Electronic
A turn of phrase no doubt overused in the music world, but in this instance, it couldn’t be more accurate — Jadu Heart is a duo simply unlike any other. Sonically, they sit in a mystifying, self-serving atmosphere that allows them to weave their elements — melancholic indie, neon-tinged club music, traditional folk and contemporary R&B, to name but a few — with effortless finesse. The musical tapestry they’ve created is a cohesive, narrative-led journey into a universe that spans such conceptual elements as alter egos, numerous characters, a comic book, multiple musical projects and chapters yet untold that far extend all of that. The first thing you may notice are their masks, but beneath them is a wildly inspired story ready to be enjoyed from the first metaphorical page.
Hong Kong, HONG KONG Singer-Songwriter
Hong Kong is a city which has been — and is going — through turbulent times. In these moments, it is comforting to turn to the sensitive and contemplative music of Olivier Cong. A singer songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in introspective and atmospheric soft depths, his creations provide supple gusts and delicate howls without a hint of weakness. For his is a gentle tide — calm but laden with persistent intent, each movement gracefully deliberate and highly considered. Leonard Cohen, Damien Rice and Radiohead mark the reference points on his musical map, though he ploughs forward in a direction all his own. On the strength of his 2018 LP A Ghost And His Paintings, Apple Music selected Cong as their first Hong Kong Spotlight Artist. The follow-up release Through The Window I See No Star was a live recording of Cong’s ambitious performance at St. Andrew’s Church. Invitations to compose for the Hong Kong Ballet and Shanghai Opera House, amongst others, are a testament to his talent, pedigree and quiet confidence.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Justin Sweeting has over eighteen years music industry experience, centered within Asia. Having established the pan-regional, cross media platform AMP (Asia’s Music Platform) for Channel [V], Justin went on to co-found Magnetic Asia as Music Director. Magnetic Asia operates festivals & events: Clockenflap, Sonar Hong Kong, YourMum, Ticketing; and offers further agency services to a broad reach of clients including digital marketing, PR, production and consultancy. Connecting the dots between Asia and the global industry at large, Justin enjoys spreading the word on the region’s music potential and is actively involved in its positive evolution.
Leeds, UK-ENGLAND Rock
This band headlined my Good Karma Club tour around the UK last year and killed it every single night! Their indie pop songs are all huge, catchy, sing-along anthems and they manage to create such a fun party atmosphere whenever they play live. Go and check them out for yourself at their first SXSW, before the release of their eagerly-anticipated debut album later this year.
Abbie McCarthy is a TV & Radio presenter. She currently presents BBC Music Introducing in Kent and can also be heard covering shows on BBC Radio 1, as well as hosting the popular music podcast, Live Lounge Uncovered, which brings listeners behind the scenes of the BBC’s home of live music. You can catch Abbie on your TV screens, via 4Music & The Box Network, hosting Boxfresh, a show that shines a spotlight on the biggest new artists on the planet. Abbie is also the mastermind behind Good Karma Club, a club night championing the best acts around. Previous acts to have played the night include The Amazons, Pale Waves and Tom Grennan.
London, UK-ENGLAND Electronic
TSHA is a London-based DJ/producer whose diverse style is danceable yet challenging at the same time. Think Four Tet and Jon Hopkins. Her 2019 single “Me You” immediately hooked me — It seems to pull the best from modern trends and throw a unique spin on top. I am very excited to see where TSHA goes in 2020.
John is the North America Team Lead for Spotify’s Music Culture & Editorial team. He’s been with the company since 2013, curating playlists and working on programming strategy. In his time at Spotify, John has curated playlists across almost every genre, mood, and moment, and more recently worked on developing playlists like POLLEN and Lorem. John attended Fordham University and lives in New York City.
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Electronic
Melbourne experimental pop songwriter Becky Freeman records world-building conceptual collections as Sui Zhen. On 2015’s Secretly Susan, she adopted the persona of a social media avatar (“I am a creature without a tangible home”) in songs that mixed toppling electro dub, chillwave-esque pop, Pizzicato 5-vibes, and bossa nova. Her brilliant third album Losing, Linda was inspired in part by AI and in part by her mother dying from pancreatic cancer — she sings like a robot, but one who’s feeling all too human. Despite that conceptual framework, it’s never too heavy — Freeman has an ability to place big concepts in music that feels airy, delicate, and open. And sometimes the material is both comforting and frightening, like on the surprisingly swinging “Mountain Song,” where she asks, “Can you let go and just be comfortable with the fear you have for the unknown?/ What could be out there that’s scarier than your own mind?” It often is scarier, though, and she seems to know that — but you create art amid it, and keep going anyway. As she sings in the shiny, ebullient robo-pop of “Perfect Place”: “Things you can’t put off, do it now, do it now.”
Brandon Stosuy is the Co-founder and Editor in Chief of The Creative Independent, the co-founder of the annual Basilica Soundscape festival in Hudson, NY, the co-founder of NYC’s ongoing Tinnitus Music Series, and has been a Music Curator at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles and at MoMA PS1 in NYC. He co-founded Zone 6 Artist Management with his friend Caleb Braaten, founder of Sacred Bones Records. Together they manage Circuit des Yeux, Girlpool, Hether Fortune, Jess Williamson, Kinlaw, Lydia Ainsworth, Moor Mother, Purple Pilgrims, Zola Jesus and co-curate Zone 6 Gallery in Ridgewood, Queens. For the past several years Stosuy and the visual artist Matthew Barney have collaborated on a series of live events, objects, and print publications related to their Long Island City performance space, REMAINS. (They’re currently at work on a book about the space.) His anthology, Up is Up, But So Is Down: New York’s Downtown Literary Scene, 1974-1992, was published by NYU Press in 2006. He is also the author of two children’s books: Music Is (2016) and We Are Music (2018) and is at work on a three-book series about work/life balance, inspiration, and failure. The first installment is out Fall 2020 on Abrams.
Cardiff, UK-WALES Rock
Cardiff’s Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard are making glam rock great again. Their live show is half nihilistic showmanship and half supremely endearing musicianship, with lead singer Tom Rees throwing himself around stage with tongue-in-cheek abandon and a whole lot of youthful charm. While previous single “Late Night City” is about as retro as it gets, tunes like “Double Denim Hop” and “Love Forever” have a hint of their home nation’s psychedelic past to them — a bit Super Furry Animals meets Gorky’s Zygotic Mycni, but the weed’s been laced with uppers — a different decade, but the same tight knitwear and Welsh talent for a cheeky hook. After a good year of constant touring and festival spots, and with support from the likes of BBC Introducing, NME and yours truly at The Line of Best Fit, we know they’ll be Canadian tuxedo-ing their way across the USA to acclaim.
Jen Long has been working in music for over a decade. She presented BBC Introducing on Radio 1, was the voice of BBC Three, and presented festival coverage for the channel. After leaving the BBC, Jen worked at DICE as Music Editor before leaving to set up her own company Take Care Management (Aaron Porter, Mammút, Melissa Parmenter), also working alongside DEF (Austra) and Straight & Narrow (Eve Owen). Jen is Contributing Editor and Partnerships Director of The Line of Best Fit.
Philadelphia, PA Punk
Philadelphia’s Control Top play wiry post-punk with lyrics that fire like Gang of Four salvos, anti-capitalist political slogans, or a clenched fist. As vocalist/bassist Ali Carter shouts on the title track from the band’s debut Covert Contracts, “Everything looks like a commercial/ It’s a brand to be controversial.” (True.) Carter remains front and center throughout the record — the drums and guitars seem to derive energy from her howls and shouts — but it’s clear the group is collaborative and part of a larger community. Guitarist Al Creedon, who’s also worked with Priests, produced the record, which was released on drummer Alex Lichtenauer’s label Get Better Records. (Lichtenauer’s put records by other Philadelphia bands like Sheer Mag and Empath.) This is anthemic, revved-up music where you may hear the Slits one moment, Bikini Kill another; it’s more present than that, though, and part of its own very current and vital scene. It’s angry, and it’s welcoming, too — Control Top offer a no-wave dervish that plows you over as it picks you up.
Brandon Stosuy is the Co-founder and Editor in Chief of The Creative Independent, the co-founder of the annual Basilica Soundscape festival in Hudson, NY, the co-founder of NYC’s ongoing Tinnitus Music Series, and has been a Music Curator at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles and at MoMA PS1 in NYC. He co-founded Zone 6 Artist Management with his friend Caleb Braaten, founder of Sacred Bones Records. Together they manage Circuit des Yeux, Girlpool, Hether Fortune, Jess Williamson, Kinlaw, Lydia Ainsworth, Moor Mother, Purple Pilgrims, Zola Jesus and co-curate Zone 6 Gallery in Ridgewood, Queens. For the past several years Stosuy and the visual artist Matthew Barney have collaborated on a series of live events, objects, and print publications related to their Long Island City performance space, REMAINS. (They’re currently at work on a book about the space.) His anthology, Up is Up, But So Is Down: New York’s Downtown Literary Scene, 1974-1992, was published by NYU Press in 2006. He is also the author of two children’s books: Music Is (2016) and We Are Music (2018) and is at work on a three-book series about work/life balance, inspiration, and failure. The first installment is out Fall 2020 on Abrams.
Houston, TX Soul
The Southern soul is evident in everything Jack Freeman creates. Born in Houston, Texas, the singer blends grungy rock tones with sturdy, effortless grooves, creating a timeless sound that rarely disappoints. Lyrically, he creates heartfelt storylines that revolve around love, at times rejoicing in its beauty, and at times lashing out against it’s cruel misgivings. In November 2019 he released Leather, a 5 song EP that added smooth textures to his growing catalogue. A SXSW veteran, Freeman performed at showcases in both 2018 and 2019, and he’ll return to Austin in 2020 to grace the stage once again.
Kenan Draughorne is a freelance music writer based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared on sites such as DJBooth, HipHopDX, and Ones to Watch. He also serves as editor-in-chief of SLAP (See LA Prosper), a platform dedicated to showcasing all the rising talent currently making waves in the LAnd.
Mount Pleasant, MI Metal
Michigan grindcore trio Cloud Rat are, in some ways, typical of the genre’s Hobbesian nightmare: very fast, very loud, very rough. Even in a genre all about speed, rage, and both in excess, there’s an extra urgency that their peers and even some of their forebears lack, and that’s why they’ve garnered fans who aren’t exactly grind freaks. They draw on the melodic crust punk of His Hero Is Gone and Tragedy as much as classic Earache Records grind of yore, which not only gives their attack a hopeless longing (Madison Marshall’s vocals are especially crucial), but also adds a beautiful dimension. And they’re more willing to go aggressive with such beauty. Last year, they released two records: Pollinator, which is the grind one expects of them, and Do Not Let Me Off the Cliff, a companion EP that’s darkwave with touches of dark folk and noise.
Andy O’Connor is a writer based in Austin, Texas. He covers metal, hardcore, noise, and other forms of non-music, with bylines in Pitchfork, Vice, the Austin American-Statesman, Decibel, Kerrang!, Bandcamp Daily, and more. When not damaging his ears and his well-being, you can find him vigorously breaking down Mountain Dew flavors, scouring the internet for bootleg shirts, or plotting to take down the El Arroyo sign.
Brooklyn, NY Rock
Brooklyn-based psych-rock group The Muckers has been defying sounds and barriers since their early formation in Tehran, Iran. Formed by Emir Mohsseni, the band nods to funk, 70’s glam and rock and roll with an effortless charisma heard in their 2018 debut EP It’s Better Without You, which Rolling Stone called a “record that shimmers with fire and possibility.” The EP boasts grooves and vibrant tones taken straight from a Studio-54 spoof film — in a good, retro-made-modern way. In a recent NME article the band was dubbed as “one of New York’s most exciting new bands”, including them too in their 100 Essential New Artists For 2020. The Muckers’ effervescent sound and presence is timeless, and as NME confirms, saying, “The Muckers are also a gang who don’t take themselves too seriously,” it’s all good times laced with glitter.
Alt Citizen is a New York and LA-based music and culture blog, zine, and event promoter.
Madison, WI Rock
I first came across Disq when I saw they were supporting Shame on some North American dates last year. I think Shame’s drummer Charlie Forbes sent me some waffly, drunk message saying they were otherworldly and worth checking out. Weirdly, Charlie is sometimes actually quite astute when he’s out of it, so I went straight to their single ‘Communication,’ which was epic in the way that only a punk band signed to Saddle Creek could be. Multiple guitar solos, beautiful harmonies, and a sense of Fire and Skill stopped me in my tracks, and I’ve not been disappointed since. A new 2020 record called Collector tightens everything up but sees them lose none of their early charm.
Matt Wilkinson made his name as New Music Editor of NME where he reported on artists who were changing the way we listened. Matt continues mining the best new music, chronicling the whole of the UK scene, and telling the stories behind the songs of the day. Listen to Matt’s Apple Music show live for free or on-demand Mondays-Fridays at apple.co/B1_Matt.
Ensenada, MEXICO Rock
Formed in Guadalajara, Jalisco, by Lorena Quintanilla and Alberto González, this duo brings a cathartic and hypnotic experience, melding dreamy vocals with instrumental aspects between psychedelia, garage rock, krautrock and shoegaze with great artistry. Challenging at times, with moments that could be described as chaotic, their show is defined by a complex, layered collection of songs that ask its audience to leave all their worries behind and focus only their movements. At the end, every sound is transformed into a moment of relaxation and community with the music. The widely-praised fifth entry in their discography De Facto (2019) resembles the work of legendary Scottish trio Cocteau Twins, one of their most vital influences.
Oscar Adame is a 23 year old music journalist based in Mexico City. Today he works as the Music Editor in Chief of WARP Magazine, one of the most well known specialized media outlets in Latin America. Oscar Adame has published interviews with artists such as Gorillaz, Rosalía, Billie Eilish, The National, Björk and more. Currently, he is working with one clear objective: to eliminate classist prejudices against reggaeton music.
London, UK-ENGLAND Pop
London-based Arlo Parks first caught our attention with her debut single “Cola,” released in November 2018, which stopped us in our tracks. Parks’ voice is wistful and melancholy with a jazz-influenced smoothness and a Billie Eilish-esque ephemerality. Singer, songwriter, poet and rapper, Parks makes pop music with soothing harmonies and crooner vocals that belie morbid lyrical imagery. The literary quality to Parks’ writing elevates her music into left-of-center pop for intellectuals. 2019 was a massive year for Parks, seeing the release of debut EP Super Sad Generation in April and her follow-up EP Sophie in December and making the NME 100 and the BBC’s Sound of 2020 lists.
We Found New Music (WFNM) is a music discovery and culture curation brand founded and developed by Grant Owens, who’s been instrumental in building artists careers. As a live showcase, content series, radio show, and blog, WFNM has been the first point of promotion for several of today’s top artists. With early interviews and in studio performances by the likes of Billie Eilish, Yungblud, Kim Petras, LAUV and Bishop Briggs, WFNM is widely regarded throughout the music industry as a trend defining brand, and Owens’ curation and personal taste has established him as a well respected oracle of the best upcoming pop, rock and R&B artists. WFNM has been presenting its popular showcases since 2014, converting to a weekly residency format in 2018. The nearly 1,000 attendees per month are treated to what is often the first ever LA live appearance by tomorrow’s buzzworthy talent, including Finneas, Allie X, Stephen Puth, HAMZAA, and Maddie Medley, as well as private invitation-only sets by major artists like Sigrid, Stephen Malkmus, & Yokelore. WFNM has also presented an official SXSW showcase in Austin for the past six years. More at WEFOUNDNEWMUSIC.COM.
Houston, TX Hip-Hop / Rap
Doeman is out to prove that hip-hop is better in Texas. Growing up in Southeast Houston, the self-proclaimed Barrio God didn’t have immediate access to major labels — instead, he accrued the acumen to start his own collective, Dyna Music Group. Independently, Doeman has moved needles for himself regionally and countrywide, from his own Texas tour to a slot in Rolling Loud’s Los Angeles festival. In 2019, he added to his discography with the release of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a 7-song EP featuring fellow Houstonian Maxo Kream. His innate skills as an MC have only improved over the years. Flashes of fast raps appear in songs like No Limit ‘91 and Upside, while songs like Again showcase his ability to flow effortlessly on to instrumentals with sultry choruses. On- and off-record, he never shies away from promoting his Mexican-American heritage. Throughout the past five years, Doeman has positioned himself as one of the most promising Texan newcomers to watch.
Ogden Payne is a contributing writer at Forbes.com documenting the business models of today’s top hip-hop artists, record labels, and digital streaming services. He has collaborated on articles with Chance the Rapper, Migos, and Dreamville Records, as well as industry professionals such as Dre London (Manager, Post Malone) and Chris Zarou (Manager, Logic & CEO, Visionary Music Group). In 2017, Payne founded For The Students, a company dedicated to bridging the gap between students and the music industry. Since its inception, For The Students has hosted live Q&As with top-tier music industry professionals at NYU, University of Maryland, the University of Texas, Florida State University and more.
Tokyo, JAPAN Hip-Hop / Rap
Abstract beats, aggressive and punkish rap, and an overwhelming energy are the hallmarks of Tokyo-based hip-hop trio Dos Monos. As artists Zo Zhit, TAITANMAN, and Botsu demonstrate on their debut album, Dos City on Deathbomb Arc, their prog rock and free jazz influences combine with fascinating literary and philosophical lyrics to create a unique and formidable odyssey into jazz-rap.
Takazumi Hosaka is the Editor-in-Chief of Spincoaster. Spincoaster curates cutting-edge music worldwide, introducing artists to Japanese audiences and Japanese musicians to the world.
Seattle, WA Rock
Great Grandpa have put out some really excellent indie rock over the past few years. Their first album Plastic Cough opens with an anthemic banger in “Teen Challenge” — this track gets stuck in my head all the time. The band’s 2019 album Four of Arrows evolved their sound naturally, to a maybe more mature place — arrangements got a bit more sophisticated, production more complex, and new genre influencers were introduced — but not to worry, the anthemic bangers and emotional heft are still there. “Mono no Aware” has to be one of my top songs of 2019.
John is the North America Team Lead for Spotify’s Music Culture & Editorial team. He’s been with the company since 2013, curating playlists and working on programming strategy. In his time at Spotify, John has curated playlists across almost every genre, mood, and moment, and more recently worked on developing playlists like POLLEN and Lorem. John attended Fordham University and lives in New York City.
Brooklyn, NY Soul
A Miranda and the Beat show feels like you’re V.I.P. inside the torn-up heart of a musician in a smoky bar, throwing back shots of whiskey with their leather-studded misfit friends. Think of the sassy instrumentation and vocals of Big Mama Thorton meeting the gritty personality and edginess of early Iggy Pop. Then right when you think you’ve got Miranda and the Beat figured out, you hear a side of them that reminds you of a sweet Alicia Keys. Their two released songs “Baby Baby Baby” and “Don’t Say You Love Me” are just the whiskey hitting your tongue — see them live and taste the burn.
Elena Childers was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA by a punk rock drummer from the mountains of Kentucky and a rebellious scientist from the capital of Chile. Now living in Brooklyn, NY, she’s a rebel with no cause needed and a podcast host/ music journalist for BTRtoday and Alt Citizen. Catch her backstage at all the coolest underground shows in NYC.
London, UK-ENGLAND Punk
Going from four childhood friends with somewhat daft names for one another, to becoming an integral part of the next generation of London’s punk scene, Italia 90 are a band that’ll certainly stick in your mind. Having relocated from their home of Brighton to become part of South London’s infamously creative hub, the quartet – Les Miserable, J Dangerous, Bobby Portrait and Captain ACAB – have quickly developed a reputation for melding together all manner of influences and styles to create their jagged, enticing brand of post-punk. Led by Les’ no-nonsense vocal style, their tracks come socially-charged and packed with a sense of addictive restlessness and power, that really marks them out amongst their punk peers.
Lisa Wright is the Features Editor and Head of Live Bookings at DIY Magazine – a UK-based monthly music print title and website with an online reach of 1 million unique users/month. She has interviewed people including Paul McCartney, Iggy Pop and The 1975, and has booked festival stages at multiple events in the UK and USA.
Brookyln, NY Rock
Pom Pom Squad’s music is simultaneously blunt and serrated. The group subverts tired notions of things like cheerleaders or gender tokenization while making music that hinges not on calculated irony but the unvarnished truth. The Brooklyn quarter’s standout single “Heavy Heavy” approaches minor grievances like missing your train and existential depression with the same bleeding edge, as guitarist and lead singer Mia Berrin broadcasts every bit of anger and frustration in her vocals and sludgy riffs. Ow, their 2019 EP, is an intimate portrait of not only struggles, depression, and mental illness, but the exhaustion that all of those issues bring. But the instrumentation itself—all fuzzy guitar, pounding drums, and murky chords—creates a sense of catharsis, like smashing an item from a person who wronged you.
Grant Rindner is a music journalist in New York who has written for Dazed, Rolling Stone, and Complex. He primarily reports on regional music scenes, streaming, and also serves as a freelance editor for Pigeons & Planes.
Dublin, IRELAND Punk
With vital music often coming out of tough times, it’s really no surprise that the slew of thrilling, punk-inspired guitar acts breaking out from the UK continues apace. So it is that Irish five-piece The Murder Capital arrive in Austin, with a highly deserved reputation in Europe for their blissfully unforgiving music and incendiary live shows. Drawn from the same Dublin scene as Fontaines D.C., they are the darker, more theatrical fellow to Fontaine’s anthemic pub brand of post punk. 2019’s Flood-produced coming of age album When I Have Fears showcases the vast emotional landscape they operate inside, whilst simultaneously pinpointing the tenderness and beauty in brutality they revel in. Sublime art-punk rock at its best, and indeed best experienced live. Make beelines!
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Justin Sweeting has over eighteen years music industry experience, centered within Asia. Having established the pan-regional, cross media platform AMP (Asia’s Music Platform) for Channel [V], Justin went on to co-found Magnetic Asia as Music Director. Magnetic Asia operates festivals & events: Clockenflap, Sonar Hong Kong, YourMum, Ticketing; and offers further agency services to a broad reach of clients including digital marketing, PR, production and consultancy. Connecting the dots between Asia and the global industry at large, Justin enjoys spreading the word on the region’s music potential and is actively involved in its positive evolution.
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Pop
Proud Wergaia / Wemba Wemba woman Alice Skye has been steadily gaining a reputation as one of Australia’s brightest new faces since releasing debut single “You Are The Mountains” in 2015. Her latest single “I Feel Better But I Don’t Feel Good” is her first on Bad Apples Music, the prolific Indigenous record label founded by Yorta Yorta rapper Briggs. The label aims to use music as a platform for social change and fostering the talent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Steeped in success from the outset, Alice Skye’s raw musicality , sensitivity and maturity well beyond her years continues to turn heads across the country and now the world. It’s just Alice and her piano. Nothing more needed.
Amelia Jenner is FBi Radio’s Music Director and the third to be appointed since the station launched in 2003. Now in its 17th year, FBi Radio is an independent youth broadcaster dedicated to the music, arts & culture of Sydney. FBi Radio plays 50% Australian music, with half of that from Sydney. As Music Director, Amelia is responsible for shaping the sound of FBi Radio through music programming, interviews and all music-focused content on-air and online.
London, UK-ENGLAND Jazz
“Abusey Junction” was originally released on a compilation for Gilles Peresson’s Bronswood Recordings. It later took the lead on an exceptional self-titled EP. It has been two years since the initial release of “Abusey Junction”, and the song has found its way into playlists around the globe. Written by KOKOROKO’s guitarist on a rooftop in Gambia, it’s no surprise that the rest of the band’s music takes on a noticeably authentic West African hue — their afrobeat flair is a leading light in the London jazz community. Much like the emergence of recent heavyweights Khruangbin and their Thai funk sound, KOKOROKO have managed to harness a sound from the past — think Fela Kuti —and present it to modern audiences. Millions of listeners have already caught on to this band — they’ll be a must-see at SXSW 2020.
We believe humans are better than robots at discovering new music.
Jakarta, INDONESIA Rock
Reality Club shows what Asian indie music fans get into. In the beginning, the songs were danceable, dreamy, catchy, a bit rocky and easy to listen to for any young people who like musicians such as Last Dinosaurs — and then, there was Instagram. The band’s front-woman, Fathia Izzati, who now has more than 400k followers on social media, knew how to communicate with her fans and make them love their music. It was the story in 2017 when they released their first album Never Get Better which included their most beloved dream-pop song “Is It The Answer”. Two years later, the band came back with the second album What Do You Know? They show layered and uneasy emotion through well-produced garage rock songs, and they know how to throw themselves at their live performances.
Cecilia Soojeong Yi is the executive manager for Zandari Festa, Korea’s premier independent and international showcase festival. In 2018, she co-founded “DMZ Peace Train Music Festival”, taking charge of booking and international relationships.
Coromandel, NEW ZEALAND Pop
New Zealand sisters Clementine and Valentine Nixon took inspiration for the name of their musical project, Purple Pilgrims, from lives spent traveling. Spending time in Hong Kong and China, and later touring throughout the world with Ariel Pink and Gary War among others, the sisters returned to New Zealand, playing their first shows together in early 2011. They left again after the Christchurch earthquake wrought havoc on the city in February. Despite the upheaval, they released their debut 8″ later that year on Pseudo Arcana, and went on to put out a 2013 split with tourmate Gary War on Upset the Rhythm, as well as their first LP, 2016’s Eternal Delight, on Not Not Fun. They returned to their New Zealand roots for their most recent LP, 2019’s Perfumed Earth which came out on Flying Nun. It’s an otherworldly, ethereal collection of songs with suggestions of psychedelia to recall the constant motion of their lives.
Photo editor and social media manager at BrooklynVegan, where she’s contributed for nearly 10 years.
Copenhagen, DENMARK Electronic
Zeroing in on concepts of renewal, often through meditative repetition, the Copenhagen-based composer and musician Astrid Sonne combines the computer-generated with the organic, an approach that allows her to maintain emotional resonances within an experimental mix. She makes complicated, computer-based music with a beating heart, which is not an easy task. She sews together viola, voice, digital washes, and 1s and 0s in ways that are engaging (and, with your headphones on, all-enveloping). Sonne’s debut album, 2018’s Human Lines, blended frenetic coded soundscapes with minimalist cloud formations and tumbling glitch cathedrals. Last year’s Cliodynamics EP put her viola at the forefront amid denser soundscapes (think buzzing digital orchestras), but it ended with a peaceful (and jazzy) acapella choir, “Strong, Calm, Slow,” a song you could imagine surfacing on a bookstore café’s soundtrack. One of that EP’s song titles is “To Change is to Continue,” an apt slogan for Sonne’s continuously morphing compositional approach.
Brandon Stosuy is the Co-founder and Editor in Chief of The Creative Independent, the co-founder of the annual Basilica Soundscape festival in Hudson, NY, the co-founder of NYC’s ongoing Tinnitus Music Series, and has been a Music Curator at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles and at MoMA PS1 in NYC. He co-founded Zone 6 Artist Management with his friend Caleb Braaten, founder of Sacred Bones Records. Together they manage Circuit des Yeux, Girlpool, Hether Fortune, Jess Williamson, Kinlaw, Lydia Ainsworth, Moor Mother, Purple Pilgrims, Zola Jesus and co-curate Zone 6 Gallery in Ridgewood, Queens. For the past several years Stosuy and the visual artist Matthew Barney have collaborated on a series of live events, objects, and print publications related to their Long Island City performance space, REMAINS. (They’re currently at work on a book about the space.) His anthology, Up is Up, But So Is Down: New York’s Downtown Literary Scene, 1974-1992, was published by NYU Press in 2006. He is also the author of two children’s books: Music Is (2016) and We Are Music (2018) and is at work on a three-book series about work/life balance, inspiration, and failure. The first installment is out Fall 2020 on Abrams.
Chicago, IL Pop
Sen Morimoto is a multi-instrumentalist composer and songwriter born in Kyoto, Japan and currently based in Chicago. Brought into the spotlight by the lo-fi and charmingly nostalgic music video for “Cannonball” in 2018, his beats and mellow vocals have only become sharper: precisely-delivered lyrics inspire a sense of paranoia and anxiety, set to polyrhythmic beats that reflect jazz and abstract hip-hop influences. Morimoto’s debut jazz-rap album Cannonball! opens new avenues of creativity — if you’re looking for the future of music, find it here.
Takazumi Hosaka is the Editor-in-Chief of Spincoaster. Spincoaster curates cutting-edge music worldwide, introducing artists to Japanese audiences and Japanese musicians to the world.
Manila, PHILIPPINES Folk
Making their SXSW debut, soulful indie-folksters Ben&Ben are one of the Philippines’ most compelling bands of the moment. Fronted by twin brothers Paolo and Miguel Guico, the Manila-based nine-piece have already racked up streaming numbers in the hundreds of millions, and their 2019 debut album Limasawa Street has won them plaudits around the Asian region. Musically, there are glancing shades of Elbow and sporadic nods to Arcade Fire, though Ben&Ben’s true talent lies in the pure, sincere and endearing charm which pervades all that they do. Live, it is nigh impossible not to be swept up. Prepare to be delighted.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Justin Sweeting has over eighteen years music industry experience, centered within Asia. Having established the pan-regional, cross media platform AMP (Asia’s Music Platform) for Channel [V], Justin went on to co-found Magnetic Asia as Music Director. Magnetic Asia operates festivals & events: Clockenflap, Sonar Hong Kong, YourMum, Ticketing; and offers further agency services to a broad reach of clients including digital marketing, PR, production and consultancy. Connecting the dots between Asia and the global industry at large, Justin enjoys spreading the word on the region’s music potential and is actively involved in its positive evolution.
Houston, TX Hip-Hop / Rap
Houston-based dance rap wunderkind Tisakorean demands a physical response. His vocal performances are like a cartoon fight cloud, understated flows doing battle with enthusiastic yelps and barked refrains. Hits like “The Mop” and “Dip” are gleefully unhinged, succeeding behind the 2-year-old’s considerable charisma and knack for easy-to-learn dance moves. Tisa expanded his musical universe on his 2019 debut mixtape, A Guide To Being A Partying Freshman, and has since been championed by stars like Lil Uzi Vert and Chance the Rapper. Tisa’s music is distinctly modern but evokes the ringtone rap age, when sparse beats and infectious hooks ruled the charts. He’s mostly known for his success on platforms like Triller and TikTok, but there’s no doubt that Tisa will bring his devilish energy to the stage.
Grant Rindner is a music journalist in New York who has written for Dazed, Rolling Stone, and Complex. He primarily reports on regional music scenes, streaming, and also serves as a freelance editor for Pigeons & Planes.
Murcia, SPAIN Pop
The project of London- based and Spanish-born Alberto García Roca, Alien Tango’s vaudeville DIY bedroom pop is camp, catchy and chaotic. Roca’s singular musical vision puts him in the same league as Daniel Johnston and The Lemon Twigs but his music has a more abstract slant than either of those artists, shot through with humour and surrealism that demands a lot from its audience but gives back much more. Garcia decamped from his southern-Spanish roots a couple of years back and put together a band in the UK capital for a series of raucous live shows that place his extroverted showmanship front and centre. Alien Tango have earned a rep across the city for bringing the party vibes and fun into a scene that often takes itself way too seriously.
Paul Bridgewater is Music Editor based in London for The Line of Best Fit.
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Rock
Ali Barter’s music deals with the devastating truths of young adulthood, coated in the shimmering veneer of guitar-driven pop rock. On her much acclaimed second album Hello, I’m Doing My Best, the Melbourne artist traverses emotional minefields such as sobriety, self-doubt and body shame with a light touch, counteracting the thematic heaviness with cheeky lyricism and glistening production. As Barter herself explains, “I really connect to the idea that you can say something really controversial, but if you say it in a nice way people are more likely to listen to it.”
Head of Content at Evolve Media Australia. Managing Editor of Music Feeds. Eurovision hopeful.
Austin, TX R & B
The soulful and emotionally stirring talents of Austin, Texas-based R&B artist Jay Wile are more than impressive. Powerful songwriting that is felt as well as heard is only one part of Wile’s playful sonic construction. Regularly texturized by a mixture of live and synthetic instrumentation that can be brandished through bright and dim palettes, each record produced by this burgeoning artist stands on the strength of its merit. His continuously growing discography, currently comprised of two albums, an EP and a handful of singles, paints a vivid picture of an artist that has yet to tell his entire story. As time continues to pass, Jay Wile will undoubtedly continue to grow and evolve placing transparency and heart at the forefront of his musical pursuits. An artist with such a noble intent not only gives a glimpse into his bright artistic future but practically ensures it through a dedication to quality.
Chuck Ramos is passionate music listener and fan that is constantly searching for new artist with eclectic sounds and styles. Chuck Ramos’ time as a writer has afforded him incredible opportunities in working alongside some truly talented individuals whose name’s will undoubtedly be remembered forever.
Graz, AUSTRIA Punk
UK band Petrol Girls’ post-hardcore/indie rock blend has made them one of the most talked-about new punk bands around — just one listen to their great 2019 album, Cut & Stitch, and it’s no surprise to learn they’ve already landed tours overseas with Refused, Thrice, and La Dispute — and they seem poised to finally leave their mark on US audiences this year. They’ve got an intense, hard-hitting sound, but they don’t shy away from clean production or a catchy chorus, making their attack just a little more approachable without sacrificing any of their raw power. And the intensity in the music is matched by powerful lyrics that the band themselves have deemed “raging feminist post-hardcore.” Raging indeed.
Andrew Sacher has been writing about music at BrooklynVegan since 2010, but he’s been obsessing over it since hearing The Beach Boys at age 6. In addition to writing, he’s helped curate events and playlists. He has represented BrooklynVegan at SXSW for the past eight years, as well as at music festivals like Firefly and Lockn’, and on BBC Radio 1. He is currently a senior editor at BV and living in New York City.
Brooklyn, NY Folk
Pearla, aka 23-year-old Nicole Rodriguez, delves delicately into the past throughout her delightful, pensive debut EP from last year: Quilting & Other Activities. She asks herself on one song, “Can you forgive yourself for missing the last get-together? / It’s alright to stay inside if you think that will make you feel better.” It’s like she’s questioning her own decisions while simultaneously defending them. This dichotomy appears again and again as she expertly weaves folk and singer/songwriter fare into a twinkling mix of acoustic treasures. Equal parts Norah Jones, Waxahatchee and My Morning Jacket, she plays with psychedelia and Americana while leaving her own personalized stamp on traditional folk. Any room the Brooklyn singer plays feels as much like a poetry reading as it does a hymn sampler.
Ellen Johnson is a Paste music writer and editor based in Atlanta, Ga. She enjoys music of all kinds but especially cherishes folk, country and Americana, particularly made by southern artists. She graduated in 2018 from the University of Alabama, where she was on staff at both The Crimson White and Alice Magazine and hosted the school’s first Battle of the Bands against Ole Miss. She still cheers relentlessly for the Crimson Tide. When she’s not working, she’s probably attempting to learn the mandolin, tying to build cred on LetterBoxd or eating queso.
Chattanooga, TN Hip-Hop / Rap
The Southern-style of Chattanooga based rap artist YGTUT can be summed up in one word: honest. Whether ignited by his confidence on more bombastic production or drawn into the sermon-like delivery of his more introspective records, YGTUT never seems to let a verse go to waste. Chock-full of what can only be described as honest assessments of the world around him, the Tennessee preacher’s son draws from emotions, feelings and experiences he’s lived himself. This utter transparency and commitment to truth, which is present and accounted for on almost every record, doesn’t only invite listeners into YGTUT’s musical world but introduces listeners to the man behind it all. His most recent release, a seven-track EP titled I.O.U., continues to build on his growing catalog and define the man behind the mic. YGTUT is a name we will undoubtedly be talking about for a long time as he continues to place truth and honesty at the forefront of his music.
Chuck Ramos is passionate music listener and fan that is constantly searching for new artist with eclectic sounds and styles. Chuck Ramos’ time as a writer has afforded him incredible opportunities in working alongside some truly talented individuals whose name’s will undoubtedly be remembered forever.
Los Angeles, CA Rock
The Paranoyds are like my dream band, really. Firstly, they write tunes most other garage newcomers would kill for (Carnage Bargain, Courtney). Secondly, they’re tight as fuck live. Thirdly, they genuinely seem like they’re a gang — lifers, if you will — and fourth, their merch is 10/10. I first saw them playing to precisely nobody at SXSW a few years ago: I’d seen other like-minded acts like Sunflower Bean and Starcrawler bigging them up on social media, so wanted to check them out for myself. What I didn’t expect was how blown away I’d be by their nascent and primeval power. With a thrilling three-person front line, they butt heads and down tune in a straight-out-the-garage kind of way. They’re skewiff, but they’re really confident and clever too. Variously, they make me think of Sabbath, Ramones, Mac DeMarco and Hole. Do not miss them.
Matt Wilkinson made his name as New Music Editor of NME where he reported on artists who were changing the way we listened. Matt continues mining the best new music, chronicling the whole of the UK scene, and telling the stories behind the songs of the day. Listen to Matt’s Apple Music show live for free or on-demand Mondays-Fridays at apple.co/B1_Matt.
Belfast, UK-N. IRELAND Pop
Northern Irish singer-songwriter Lilla Vargen has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve heard in a long time. Her songs are packed full of emotion, honesty and empathy, with her writing showing a real desire to express and highlight the universal issues that she cares about. She’s recently wowed people all across Europe with her live set, after touring with fellow musician and friend Dermot Kennedy, and now she’s ready to take on SXSW! She’s definitely an act to see at this year’s festival, because by next year I reckon she’ll be known as a superstar. In preparation, take a listen to her sublime recently released EP We Were Thunder.
Abbie McCarthy is a TV & Radio presenter. She currently presents BBC Music Introducing in Kent and can also be heard covering shows on BBC Radio 1, as well as hosting the popular music podcast, Live Lounge Uncovered, which brings listeners behind the scenes of the BBC’s home of live music. You can catch Abbie on your TV screens, via 4Music & The Box Network, hosting Boxfresh, a show that shines a spotlight on the biggest new artists on the planet. Abbie is also the mastermind behind Good Karma Club, a club night championing the best acts around. Previous acts to have played the night include The Amazons, Pale Waves and Tom Grennan.
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Singer-Songwriter
Australian artist Didirri has a self-proclaimed ethos of creating music for “lovers & over thinkers”, an ethos that shines through in his heart-hitting songwriting. From 2017’s powerful single “Jude” (“My head don’t work in the usual way”) to his latest “Raw Stuff” (“It’s not how I planned it, but life has some raw stuff”), Didirri’s lyrics and crooning Rufus Wainwright-esque vocals stir the deepest reaches of the mind, all while going straight for the heart.
Head of Content at Evolve Media Australia. Managing Editor of Music Feeds. Eurovision hopeful.
Bogotá, COLOMBIA Electronic
Born out of the idea of reimagining a group as a sound system, El Guajiro, Chongo and Doctor Keyta, three of the most prominent names in the forward-thinking Colombian music scene, gathered between them the expertise, skills and vision that made Ghetto Kumbé the trailblazing live act it has become. Adding percussion, Caribbean beats and UK bass inspired elements to the mix, they blend traditional West African rhythms with Colombian sounds. Ranging from Cumbia, Palenquero, and more, the outcome is an inevitable and highly energetic dance-floor experience. Two EPs in, their sophomore album Soy Selva elevated their liking for club music with an Afro-Colombian flare. As they cast a light on their roots, traditions, relatability and respect for nature, Ghetto Kumbé, with their touch for dynamic sounds and innovation, are credible representatives of the modern Colombian electronic scene.
Francisco Gonçalves Silva is a Lisbon-born music journalist, copywriter and marketer with a background in music, tech and cultural/event management. Based in Berlin, he currently works as PR & Communications Manager for Piranha Arts, an independent creative company best known for organizing WOMEX — the World Music Expo — the most international music meeting in the world and the biggest conference of the global music scene.
New York, NY Electronic
The ladies of Overcoats don’t hold back with their rich sound. Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell have shifted up a couple of notches in order to create something huge with universal appeal, all while sticking firmly to their emotions. Their music perfectly captures the connection, tension, challenges and depths of love and family.
WeAreTheGuard.com Label/Music Filter. Real humans listening to 300+ songs daily to bring you the shiz. http://hive.co/l/weeklychart
Brooklyn, NY Rock
What happens when you take a band of tatted-up, long-haired bikers, dirty skaters, trouble-making misfits from the mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah and drop them in a gritty Brooklyn, NYC hole? You get the beautiful chaos of Max Pain & the Groovies, of course. Their in-your-face psych-rock clouds your brain like a dose of LSD and pokes holes in your reality. Thrash around with these party rockers at their show and you’ll have the trip of a lifetime. They’ve got new music cookin’ for later this year, but in the meantime, catch them live and buckle up for one debaucherous ride.
Elena Childers was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA by a punk rock drummer from the mountains of Kentucky and a rebellious scientist from the capital of Chile. Now living in Brooklyn, NY, she’s a rebel with no cause needed and a podcast host/ music journalist for BTRtoday and Alt Citizen. Catch her backstage at all the coolest underground shows in NYC.
Cali, COLOMBIA Singer-Songwriter
South American singer-songwriter Xavier Martinex beautifully captures the essence of indie-pop by weaving together carefully constructed soundscapes that delicately blend acoustic and electronic elements. Each track varies in rhythm but the soul of his music never strays from delivering his innate sense of earnestness, expressed gracefully through subdued vocal delivery. The soft rhythmic backbone of his music provides a catchy yet dreamlike stage for his soft whispering vocals to lure any listener into an introspective trance. Starting in 2009, Xavier perfected his craft by playing various open acoustic performances throughout his hometown of Cali, Colombia. Since then, the young artist has gone on to perform at many major music festivals throughout South America like Cali’s Oktoberfest, Sonorama DC, Sultana Festival, Converse Orange Festival, Beautiful Noise Festival, and Picnic Stereo Festival.
A San Francisco-based music journalist with contributions featured in publications like Billboard Magazine, SPIN, The Daily Beast, and NME to name a few. He is also the Senior Editor at EARMILK.
Dublin, IRELAND Hip-Hop / Rap
Two friends from a small town west of Dublin, Tebi Rex are among the rising hopefuls eager to prove Ireland’s worth as major players in hip-hop and urban music following the success of Hare Squead, Rejjie Snow and Kojaque. Under the eaves of the Word Up collective, Matt O’Baoill and Max Zanga have created a sound that sits perfectly at the intersection between dubby, club beats, melodic pop choruses, and a hard-worn trappy flow. Blurring the genres, they’re picking up cues from the likes of Odd Future, Kanye, and Childish Gambino alongside early Chance mixtapes. The result is something with real potential to break through commercially and their debut album, The Young Will Eat The Old was one of last year’s best under-the-radar releases.
Paul Bridgewater is Music Editor based in London for The Line of Best Fit.
Seattle, WA Rock
Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow formed The Posies in Bellingham, Washington just as grunge was about to explode, but their sunny vocal harmonies and infectious pop hooks set them apart from the angsty Seattle scene. Instead, they cemented power pop’s influence on indie rock. Producing their best known work for DGC — Dear 23, Frosting on the Beater, and Amazing Disgrace, which yielded hits like “Dream All Day” and “Golden Blunders” — but quickly growing disillusioned by major labels, they book-ended their first decade as a band with staunchly DIY efforts (1988’s Failure and 1998’s Success for indie imprint PopLlama). Performing with R.E.M. and Big Star while on hiatus, The Posies caught a second wind with 2005’s Every Kind of Light, continuing their revival with 2010’s Blood/Candy and 2016’s Solid States. This new era sees the duo, with drummer Frankie Siragusa, utilizing well-honed pop sensibility as a springboard for electronic and vocal experimentation. Now searching for a new label, The Posies bring material from a forthcoming album currently in the works to SXSW alongside their legendary back catalog.
Lindsey Rhoades is the founding Editor-In-Chief of AudioFemme. She has written for The Village Voice, Stereogum, Brooklyn Magazine, Impose, Complex, and others. You can often find her playing pinball in dive bars and laundromats around Brooklyn.
Houston, TX Hip-Hop / Rap
Fat Tony became something of a meme — as legit a path to stardom as any these days — last year when he posted a short clip on his Twitter mashing up Brooks and Dunn’s “Neon Moon” and Too $hort’s “Blow the Whistle” at a live show. That might be a novelty to the rest of the 49 states, but it shows how very Texan he is. The Houston native is very much a product of the city’s wide spread, soaking up its signature hip-hop, as well as country, emo, and pop-punk. Like SLABs swerving on I-45, he never stays in one lane. He can release his 2018 album 10,000 Hours on punk stalwarts Don Giovanni and spit fire on Charge It To The Game — his collaboration with producer Kyle Mabson which takes its name from Silkk The Shocker’s southern hip-hop second album — and sound natural doing it all.
Andy O’Connor is a writer based in Austin, Texas. He covers metal, hardcore, noise, and other forms of non-music, with bylines in Pitchfork, Vice, the Austin American-Statesman, Decibel, Kerrang!, Bandcamp Daily, and more. When not damaging his ears and his well-being, you can find him vigorously breaking down Mountain Dew flavors, scouring the internet for bootleg shirts, or plotting to take down the El Arroyo sign.
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Rock
I had never heard about the Australian band Flyying Colours (note the double “y” and “u” as not to be confused with progressive rock super group, Flying Colors) until I stumbled them upon a SXSW 2020 playlist. They’re an AMAZING sounding band, at least on record. Yeah, it’s shoegaze, but it’s something else that’s not so easy to put your finger on. One of their earlier tracks, “It’s Tomorrow Now” the band shows they can seriously rock their hearts out, while their newer material is fresh and melodic, but remains consistent with the band’s dreamy essence. Flyying Colours will definitely go on my list of bands to catch live on 2020.
Ricardo Gomez is an international talent buyer at OCESA. Ricardo Gomez participates in the music programming of Corona Capital and Corona Capital Guadalajara, while booking and promoting a wide number of shows across Mexico throughout the year.
Glasgow, UK-SCOTLAND Rock
Hailing from Glasgow’s increasingly fruitful underground scene, you can spot one of flamboyant troupe Walt Disco’s fans from a mile off: twenty times better dressed than anyone else in the room, they’re the ones who look like a tribe worshipping at the altar of Adam Ant and the late ’70s New Romantics. It would be easy to accuse a band as aesthetically on point as this quintet of style over substance, but — for their next trick — they’ve also got some proper songs to boot. “Strange To Know Nothing” begins with a hysterical trill from frontman James Potter (a man blessed vocals so theatrical it’s one step away from opera) before slinking into a synth-led stomp. Recent single “Dancing Shoes” is a seductive blend of gothic noir and shimmering new wave, while “Cut Your Hair” boasts an irrepressible dance floor bounce. Going into 2020, Walt Disco feel poised for something special.
Lisa Wright is the Features Editor and Head of Live Bookings at DIY Magazine – a UK-based monthly music print title and website with an online reach of 1 million unique users/month. She has interviewed people including Paul McCartney, Iggy Pop and The 1975, and has booked festival stages at multiple events in the UK and USA.
Sydney, AUSTRALIA Pop
Jack River (real name Holly Rankin) is the embodiment of Australian millennial pop of the now. River is a master at crafting psych-tinged pop rock songs that explode with euphoria, which is no small feat especially given that her much adored debut record Sugar Mountain was born out of the unthinkable tragedy of the loss of her sister in a terrible accident. From that loss, Rankin found healing in songwriting, in creating new worlds to escape into and in filling those worlds with boundless hope and joy. The result is electric in the best way.
Head of Content at Evolve Media Australia. Managing Editor of Music Feeds. Eurovision hopeful.
Montreal, CANADA R & B
Fool’s Gold signee HERO is an R&B star for the DIY era. The Canadian-born singer’s recent EP Cry Baby showcases his unique brand of music — a blend of synths, pop, electronic music and R&B to create something he prefers to dub as “VHS pop.” Despite this nostalgic nod, it’s definitely got a futuristic feel. It’s hazy, dark, static and autotune-riddled. His music becomes all the more impressive when coupled with the fact that HERO not only wrote each lyric, but produces his captivating records himself — experimenting on both sides of the spectrum. Sometimes the singer manipulates his voice to feel as though it’s just another facet of the drum-heavy production, while at other times his vocals are clearly the focal point. His mastery of both aspects means he need not look to outside inspiration, and thus results in a rather incubated and distinct sound — one that is truly his own.
Rose Lilah is the Head of Content at HotNewHipHop, guiding the publication’s editorial efforts, with a team of full-time writers and freelance contributors to help.
Chicago, IL Avant / Experimental
With her striking baritone moan and penchant for melding psychedelic folk, drone, and even avant-garde jazz, Chicago-based composer, arranger and vocalist Haley Fohr makes music that feels at once improvisational and ritualistic. Her arresting discography under the moniker Circuit des Yeux contains six LPs, including 2015 breakthrough In Plain Speech and 2017’s critically lauded Reaching for Indigo, but Fohr’s restless creativity can hardly be contained; she recently collaborated with New Zealand guitarist Roy Montgomery, composed an original soundtrack for 1923 silent film Salomé, and completed two LPs with country-synth project Jackie Lynn (a self-titled debut in 2016, and the forthcoming Jacqueline). Fohr is at her most enigmatic as Circuit des Yeux, her work suspended somewhere between the primal and the ethereal. Draping herself over her 12-string guitar, sometimes writhing on the floor, a Circuit des Yeux performance often transcends faithful renditions of Fohr’s recorded material as she plunges herself into something more akin to performance art.
Lindsey Rhoades is the founding Editor-In-Chief of AudioFemme. She has written for The Village Voice, Stereogum, Brooklyn Magazine, Impose, Complex, and others. You can often find her playing pinball in dive bars and laundromats around Brooklyn.
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA Avant / Experimental
Is it a concert? Is it performance art? Or is it a sound installation? Oh, it’s everything, and it doesn’t matter. TENGGER creates a sense of the universe by projecting images and playing the Indian harmonium and modular synthesizer. It feels unconsciously well-planned and comfortable, like an impeccable pattern from columnar jointed volcanic rocks or a hypnotically repeated drone from the resonance of a conch shell. The sound inspired by nature and universe with a philosophical attitude doesn’t miss the texture and provocation of the openly-expressed Krautrock influences.
Cecilia Soojeong Yi is the executive manager for Zandari Festa, Korea’s premier independent and international showcase festival. In 2018, she co-founded “DMZ Peace Train Music Festival”, taking charge of booking and international relationships.
Austin, TX Dance
“Keep Austin Weird” is a mantra you will often hear and see all throughout the city of Austin. It’s not just something that people say — from life to music, Austinites keep it weird. That brings us to the out-of-this-world band Capyac, who look like they’re from another planet. But when you hear their music, — mixing house, funk, some hip hop, R&B, soul, and Daft Punk-esque eurodisco to create smooth, body moving grooves — you know Capyac is from another planet. Whatever planet George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic came from, Capyac must be from its moon.
Aaron “Fresh” Knight is a media personality, who is currently working as a radio personality for KUTX 98.9 in Austin, TX. He co-hosts Austin’s top Hip Hop and R&B radio show, The Breaks. Knight runs his own top rated music blog with, Fresh Prince of the ATX, and has done some freelance writing for various platforms. Knight is community oriented by speaking to the youth of Austin at various schools, as well as working with Boys and Girls Club of the Austin Area. In 2017, Knight along with his co-host Confucius Jones, was named “Blacks in Public Media You Should Know.”
New York, NY Hip-Hop / Rap
Marlon Craft breathes hip-hop. His debut album Funhouse Mirror is a mature body of work, filled with punchy kick drums and live instrumentation glazed with impactful lyrics. Growing up in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, Craft had no choice but to sacrifice his days, nights, weekends, and holidays to have a career as a rapper. He consistently uploaded albums and music videos until he landed a deal with Same Plate Entertainment in 2018. The following year, he elevated his status with his own brand of poised wordplay, freestyling on radio shows like Sway’s Universe, in which he claims he’s a blend of Nas, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def. But songs like “Gang Shit”, a nearly 6-minute track that dives deep into the systemic inequalities plaguing America’s minorities, prove that he has more than witty wordsmithing in his arsenal. At just 27 years old, Craft is steadily climbing towards hip-hop nobility with blessings from T.I. and Killer Mike.
Ogden Payne is a contributing writer at Forbes.com documenting the business models of today’s top hip-hop artists, record labels, and digital streaming services. He has collaborated on articles with Chance the Rapper, Migos, and Dreamville Records, as well as industry professionals such as Dre London (Manager, Post Malone) and Chris Zarou (Manager, Logic & CEO, Visionary Music Group). In 2017, Payne founded For The Students, a company dedicated to bridging the gap between students and the music industry. Since its inception, For The Students has hosted live Q&As with top-tier music industry professionals at NYU, University of Maryland, the University of Texas, Florida State University and more.
Los Angeles, CA Rock
There’s nothing quite like seeing Nina Ljeti swing like a chaotic pendulum, between frenzied and a controlled ferocity as she leads Kills Birds, wide-eyed and screaming. Just like her performance, the Los Angeles-based rock outfit’s music seems to teeter at the brink of destruction — poised to unravel at any second. It’s that uncontrolled energy, driving melodies, and almost hypnotic quality that pulls you into Kills Birds and makes you never want to leave.
Alt Citizen is a New York and LA-based music and culture blog, zine, and event promoter.
London, UK-ENGLAND Rock
London singer/songwriter Beabadoobee went viral with the first song she ever wrote on a guitar. That’s a cool story, but it’s not always the best way to launch a career. Overnight success can lead to a quick burnout, but Beabadoobee is one of the fastest-evolving new artists out, and she’s still only 19 years old. Now she’s signed to independent record label Dirty Hit (The 1975, No Rome, The Japanese House) and she’s built her acoustic bedroom tunes into grunge-y, ‘90s-inspired jams with rich production and sophisticated songwriting. Bea’s 2019 EP Loveworm showcased her potential as a true rockstar in the making, and she’s been putting in time on the road delivering shows good enough to convert casual listeners into fans. “I went into this thinking this was going to go nowhere,” Bea says. “I was just doing it for fun. So every time you make art, do it for fun. With no expectations.” Fun isn’t always a word you associate with the slacker rock space Beabadoobee thrives in, but her energy is contagious.
Jacob Moore started Pigeons & Planes in his bedroom over 10 years ago. He loves music that pushes boundaries, and he still listens to song submissions every day.
Austin, TX Pop
Caroline Rose is gearing up to have one of her biggest years yet. Her new album Superstar comes out right before Music Week begins, ensuring new waves of energy and excitement at her live shows. If you couldn’t tell by the title, the album is drenched in Los Angeles sunshine, complete with the excitement and earnestness of someone packing up their life and moving out to the City of Angels to make their dreams come true. If you love insanely well written pop songs with a tinge of psychedelic rock and r&b, make her a priority on your list this year. If you’re not familiar with Caroline’s live set, get ready for a mixture of impeccable musicianship and a hilarious and biting sense of humor, which makes for an unforgettable live experience. Get ready to dance, laugh, and maybe cry with your friends while you discover your favorite new artist.
Alex Berenson is the Head of A&R for Vinyl Me, Please and oversees curation across the brand, as well as runs the emerging and developing artist program, VMP Rising. She currently resides in New York City.
Brighton, UK-ENGLAND Rock
Brighton, UK foursome Porridge Radio aren’t the type of band that washes up on the shore every day. Their 2016 debut full-length was a promising record recorded in a garden shed, but their forthcoming 2020 follow-up Every Bad could very well be the earth-shattering arrival of one of the best young bands on the planet. The group signed to Secretly Canadian and released two singles — “Lilac” and “Sweet” — that would give anyone that feeling of urgent elation that necessitates digging up every bit of online music or press that exists. Lead vocalist Dana Margolin possesses a rare voice with both disconnected cool and deep-rooted, benevolent passion. While her delivery is occasionally detached, her lyrics couldn’t be more down to earth — there’s humor, self-loathing and a brazen desire for connection and understanding. Their sound spans grand punk, snappy indie rock and lo-fi pop, but Margolin’s dark, magnetic presence and perceptible search for meaning will transcend listeners’ stylistic preferences.
Lizzie Manno is an assistant music editor for Paste Magazine. The Cleveland-born, Atlanta-based writer has also been published by Billboard and Cleveland Scene Magazine. Her favorite genres include indie rock, post-punk, shoegaze, punk, dream-pop, art-rock and Britpop. When she’s not watching live music, she’s fantasizing about bread, reading about progressive politics or trying to suppress her inner goofball.
London, UK-ENGLAND Electronic
NUXXE has been one of the coolest underground collectives since 2016. However, 2020 seems to be the year when their integrants finally breakthrough: Coucou Chloe is already known in both music and fashion environments, Sega Bodega has just published his first album and Oklou’s poppier recent productions augur an important raise. However, the one appearing in most of the “who will kill it in 2020” lists is Shygirl. Listening to her recent tracks “BB” and “Uckers” it’s impossible to deny it: whispered sexually-charged bars over weird-as-fuck grime and trance productions by Sega Bodega. This places her in between a pervy, queer club scene and hip-hop (similitudes with the early Azealia Banks are evident) — her productions have a dark magnetism that gets you coming back to them. We are all pending her next steps, but it’s pretty clear this is gonna be a crucial year for her.
Pau Cristòful Lozano is a dynamic and highly motivated person, and music and culture lover. Pau Cristòful Lozano has been organizing concerts and working as a music journalist since he was 14 years old. Pau Cristòful Lozano currently works as a Booking Agent at Primavera Sound, Nitsa Club and MUTEK Barcelona.
Oshkosh, WI Rock
This Milwaukee artist is at the very top of my to-see list — he just oozes talent, he has an incredible and compelling collection of songs, and I can’t wait to see him do this thing live. He cites his influences as everything from The Drums to Passion Pit to American Pleasure Club, with the result being Kenny’s self-titled “new wave nostalgia”, a wonderful blend of hip hop, alternative rock & bedroom pop, which once you’ve heard you’ll be simply hypnotised by. Push play on “Sore Loser” and then I’ll see you down the front at his show!
Abbie McCarthy is a TV & Radio presenter. She currently presents BBC Music Introducing in Kent and can also be heard covering shows on BBC Radio 1, as well as hosting the popular music podcast, Live Lounge Uncovered, which brings listeners behind the scenes of the BBC’s home of live music. You can catch Abbie on your TV screens, via 4Music & The Box Network, hosting Boxfresh, a show that shines a spotlight on the biggest new artists on the planet. Abbie is also the mastermind behind Good Karma Club, a club night championing the best acts around. Previous acts to have played the night include The Amazons, Pale Waves and Tom Grennan.
London, UK-ENGLAND Jazz
Having been a hyped secret in between London’s flourishing new jazz scene for two years, everything suggests Stream Down are ready to be the next ones conquering the international circuit. With just one track out (and an EP scheduled for the next months), this collective has been simmering with a weekly jam session in South London and early support from Gilles Petterson, Kamasi Washington and The Guardian. This 12-member band includes Theon Cross and Eddie Hick from Sons of Kemet, as well as some upcoming talent who will soon also shine individually (shout out to Laura Snapes for recommending the upcoming Nala Sinephro album!). Their music mixes uptempo afro spiritual jazz with a modern, groovy urban twist, making themselves part of a scene while at the same time they make the difference. As they said in a concert review by The Guardian: “I don’t feel UK jazz is a broad enough category for us”.
Pau Cristòful Lozano is a dynamic and highly motivated person, and music and culture lover. Pau Cristòful Lozano has been organizing concerts and working as a music journalist since he was 14 years old. Pau Cristòful Lozano currently works as a Booking Agent at Primavera Sound, Nitsa Club and MUTEK Barcelona.
London, UK-ENGLAND Punk
Dry Cleaning is one of the coolest things right now. Not just one of the coolest bands — one of the coolest things. They’re the chillest while also being quietly aggressive, telling it exactly and specifically how it is. Keep an ear to the ground and be prepared to change your plans to see them. They’re instantly iconic, so classic and so fresh. Hopefully, the fact that they’re playing at SXSW means that there’s more music coming soon… fingers crossed.
Alt Citizen is a New York and LA-based music and culture blog, zine, and event promoter.
New York, NY Singer-Songwriter
I’m sure she’s not aware, but Margaret Glaspy and I lived in Boston at the same time. That’s probably why I relate to her vibe. Her music is like the universe. It seems to keep moving and evolving in an ever-expanding wave. After an exquisite, self-produced LP released in 2016, where she showed off her amazing unique timbre mostly over a groovy bed of stripped down folk rock arrangements contrasted by some complexity in form and harmony, Margaret now seems more confident to explore with synth textures and voice effects. This is evident on ‘Killing What Keeps Us Alive’, the first track off of what I’m guessing will be her next album under ATO Records, which I think we all should be really excited about. Hats off to taking risks without compromising artistic integrity. She’s just too good. Go listen now!
Ricardo Gomez is an international talent buyer at OCESA. Ricardo Gomez participates in the music programming of Corona Capital and Corona Capital Guadalajara, while booking and promoting a wide number of shows across Mexico throughout the year.
Inglewood, CA Hip-Hop / Rap
Rucci was born to be a star. Hailing from Inglewood, the rapper has formed himself into a pillar in the Los Angeles underground after years of well-received projects culminating in 2019’s Tako’s Son. He showcases his ferocity on “Function in the Hood,” snarling his way through the frame with clever yet straightforward rhymes. Elsewhere on “Keep Going,” he lowers the energy to give a sentimental tribute to Sean Mackk, fellow rapper and close friend who’s life was cut short in 2017. You can feel his intensity through the speakers, but you can’t truly understand why he’s such a special prospect until you’ve witnessed his thunderous live show. Recently, he’s performed at Rolling Loud and LA’s famed Roxy Theater, and now he’ll return to SXSW to bless Austin with his West Coast energy.
Kenan Draughorne is a freelance music writer based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared on sites such as DJBooth, HipHopDX, and Ones to Watch. He also serves as editor-in-chief of SLAP (See LA Prosper), a platform dedicated to showcasing all the rising talent currently making waves in the LAnd.
Austin, TX Electronic
Singer and producer Vivian Moon crafts genre-bending techno hits that satisfy demand for energy and serenity under the moniker Pastel Ghost. Originally based in the Bay Area, Moon now lives in Brooklyn, where she quickly gained recognition for her unique take on dance music. Tracks like “Abyss” sound like an electronica remix of the dream-pop classic you can’t quite place. Pastel Ghost’s shoegaze influence combines with a more classic techno sound to produce a distinctive style she describes as “dreamrave.” Moon constructs plush, hazy melodies keenly punctuated by bright glimmers of synth. Her seductive, airy voice, which sinks deep into the core of her tracks, is both elusive and captivating. She commands attention with a diffused power as she weaves through the instrumentals, even as her danceable beats offer ample distraction. Pastel Ghost is a versatile listening experience to be enjoyed at the club or during a night in.
Reykjavik, ICELAND Punk
Reykjavik trio Kælan Mikla open their third album Nótt eftir nótt with four minutes of icy dungeon music — synths, ritualistic drumming, ethereal and anguished voices, maybe even some wind — and the collection closes, among other things, with a rainstorm. Outside those bookends, it’s more gothic post-punk dance party — sometimes fast, sometimes slinky, always crystalline with a ‘80s-late-night-club atmosphere (you can practically smell the clove cigarettes). Part Siouxsie, part Suicide, part Sister of Mercy, there’s a strong pop element to these songs: Margrét Rósa, Laufey Soffia, and Sólveig Matthildur definitely know how to write hooks, so even when they’re singing their melancholic death rock in Icelandic, and you don’t speak Icelandic, there’s an urgency that’ll find you shouting along in any way you can.
Brandon Stosuy is the Co-founder and Editor in Chief of The Creative Independent, the co-founder of the annual Basilica Soundscape festival in Hudson, NY, the co-founder of NYC’s ongoing Tinnitus Music Series, and has been a Music Curator at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles and at MoMA PS1 in NYC. He co-founded Zone 6 Artist Management with his friend Caleb Braaten, founder of Sacred Bones Records. Together they manage Circuit des Yeux, Girlpool, Hether Fortune, Jess Williamson, Kinlaw, Lydia Ainsworth, Moor Mother, Purple Pilgrims, Zola Jesus and co-curate Zone 6 Gallery in Ridgewood, Queens. For the past several years Stosuy and the visual artist Matthew Barney have collaborated on a series of live events, objects, and print publications related to their Long Island City performance space, REMAINS. (They’re currently at work on a book about the space.) His anthology, Up is Up, But So Is Down: New York’s Downtown Literary Scene, 1974-1992, was published by NYU Press in 2006. He is also the author of two children’s books: Music Is (2016) and We Are Music (2018) and is at work on a three-book series about work/life balance, inspiration, and failure. The first installment is out Fall 2020 on Abrams.
Los Angeles, CA Americana
The Haden Triplets — Petra, Tanya and Rachel — have a history of collaborations under their belts, establishing their place in the music world long before creating their own critically acclaimed albums together. They’ve worked with the likes of Green Day, the Foo Fighters and Weezer, to just name a few. Their own music focuses on their roots, with both their debut self-titled album and their most recent release The Family Songbook featuring beautiful folk and country tunes. The Family Songbook even includes songs written by their own grandfather Carl E. Haden. Some notable songs written by Haden off of the album include “Memories of Will Rogers” and “There’s a Little Gray Mother Dreaming.” The album also includes classic folk songs like “Pretty Baby” and “I’ll Fly Away,” which The Haden Triplets make their own with their beautiful vocals and perfect harmonization. They are truly a unique group that brings classic folk to the present.
Caitlin is a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder with a BA in journalism and a minor in creative writing. Despite not being musically inclined herself, her passion for music spans multiple genres and can be reflected by her large and ever-growing vinyl collection. She credits Bob Dylan as her inspiration and has always wanted to pursue a career that combines her love of music and writing.
Tokyo, JAPAN Pop
Feminist powerhouse YAYOI DAIMON began her career as a hip-hop dancer, broke through with girl group rhythmic and collaborations with artists like SHINGO★Nishinari and AKKOGORILLA, and evolved into a completely self-produced act. Her music embodies a broad set of influences: reggae, old-school hip-hop, dancehall, and her own unstoppable message of self-expression and freedom. Feel her energy in singles like “NO BRA” and unapologetic twerk banger “KETSUFURE”.
Takazumi Hosaka is the Editor-in-Chief of Spincoaster. Spincoaster curates cutting-edge music worldwide, introducing artists to Japanese audiences and Japanese musicians to the world.
Yokohama, JAPAN Singer-Songwriter
This 24-year-old Japanese singer-songwriter has sparked a lot of interest, and it’s easy to see the reason why. Her influences mix dreampop, instrumental hip-hop, digital hardcore, chiptune, noise rock, and vaporwave, making a fresh and unique sound in which the versatility of her compositions push themselves forward to moments of incomparable tension. Transcending barriers of language and distance, her music has been well received all over the world by a public hungry for acts that bring something different with their sounds. Her honesty most felt in her singing, which delivers descriptive tales of living in solitude and a sense of anxiety even on her happiest songs. Her debut Haru To Shura (2019) was built with anything she had on hand, making a brilliant kaleidoscope that feels like the arrival of a new state of the art.
Oscar Adame is a 23 year old music journalist based in Mexico City. Today he works as the Music Editor in Chief of WARP Magazine, one of the most well known specialized media outlets in Latin America. Oscar Adame has published interviews with artists such as Gorillaz, Rosalía, Billie Eilish, The National, Björk and more. Currently, he is working with one clear objective: to eliminate classist prejudices against reggaeton music.
Sydney, AUSTRALIA Punk
On the surface Shady Nasty takes the form of a traditional power trio, but they’ve hit on a sound and aesthetic that feels anything but traditional. Punk meets trap in the dynamic, ominous arrangements and barked vocals that have become the band’s signature. Unpredictable, considered, and dark, Shady Nasty got even more ominous this past year with their single “Get Buff”. This year they’ve dominated the Sydney live music scene — provoking crowds, splitting ears, banging heads, and setting in stone that no band in Sydney does things quite like Shady Nasty. It’s easy to see why they have become one of Australia’s most talked-about bands.
Amelia Jenner is FBi Radio’s Music Director and the third to be appointed since the station launched in 2003. Now in its 17th year, FBi Radio is an independent youth broadcaster dedicated to the music, arts & culture of Sydney. FBi Radio plays 50% Australian music, with half of that from Sydney. As Music Director, Amelia is responsible for shaping the sound of FBi Radio through music programming, interviews and all music-focused content on-air and online.
Mannheim, GERMANY Pop
Sea Moya are a German duo based in Montreal. The band’s frontman, Elias Foerster, is a prolific DJ, and the energy he brings behind the DJ booth is also a cardinal feature of Sea Moya’s live show. The band’s funk-laden electronica regularly navigates afrobeat and krautrock rhythms. They offer a unique and energetic sound that surged through the streets of Austin at last year’s SXSW showcase. In 2019 the band toured America supporting Maribou State. You’ll likely hear some of their standout Falmenta album, or last year’s singles “Blown” and “Flourish” — unfortunately this year the band won’t feature Elias’ signature red hair, but even with a shaved head the show you’re going to get makes them an unmissable act at SXSW 2020.
We believe humans are better than robots at discovering new music.
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Electronic
HTRK strike a balance of sounding both quite contemporary and just slightly out of step that makes them all the more distinctive. Their beat-driven ambient is something you might have to yell over to get an overpriced, underpowered cocktail — but at the same time, there’s more depth than hedonism-as-ennui you find in a lot of modern R&B. As lush as HTRK’s music is, there’s always a slight unease running throughout. They don’t lend themselves to overt queasiness, instead letting ripples disturb ever so gently. They put out two records last year, both of which amplify different parts of their sound: Venus in Leo has the simmering beats and lovely sense of dread, while Over the Rainbow veers more towards their ambient side, beautiful if not still.
Andy O’Connor is a writer based in Austin, Texas. He covers metal, hardcore, noise, and other forms of non-music, with bylines in Pitchfork, Vice, the Austin American-Statesman, Decibel, Kerrang!, Bandcamp Daily, and more. When not damaging his ears and his well-being, you can find him vigorously breaking down Mountain Dew flavors, scouring the internet for bootleg shirts, or plotting to take down the El Arroyo sign.
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Pop
Hachiku is Angela Anika Ostendorf, a citizen of the world. She was born in the U.S., raised in Germany, then she lived in London and is, at the time of writing, based in Australia. I’m not saying her nomadic nature is the reason behind her, but it’s not everyday that you find a 22-year-old with such a complex sound and well-defined aesthetic. Her music is brave, bold and extremely well-crafted. Not only the sound and the production, but the writing, while innocent at times, evokes real and raw emotions. Hachiku may well be the Björk of the bedroom pop generation.
Ricardo Gomez is an international talent buyer at OCESA. Ricardo Gomez participates in the music programming of Corona Capital and Corona Capital Guadalajara, while booking and promoting a wide number of shows across Mexico throughout the year.
Brooklyn, NY Pop
Artists with international backgrounds often find themselves stuck either in the traditional or the contemporary. Bogotá-raised, New York-based electro-pop duo Salt Cathedral is a rare pair, finding themselves comfortably nestled in the middle. Refusing to stick to one stereotype, Nicolas and Juliana create lush pop soundscapes where tropical and city meet. You’ll never find yourself standing still, as their island melodies and soft but persistent percussion will soon have your head, hips and entire body swaying along to their infectious rhythm. With only three EPs and a handful of singles, the pair has managed to entrance thousands of listeners with both their studio and live performances. This year’s SXSW performance won’t be their first, but if it is yours, I highly recommend getting lost in the jungle of their candied vocals and spicy pop beats.
Canada-based staff writer with EARMILK covering an array of different music genres and events.
Camden, NJ Hip-Hop / Rap
New Jersey has birthed some of the coldest rappers known to man from Redman and Queen Latifah to Joe Budden, Trech, and many others. So it comes as no surprise that Camden native Mir Fontane is a rising star in rap, known for his insane lyrical ability to match culturally relevant content and melodic hooks. Mir Fontane has been molded from the styles of today, yet has managed to create his own lane in a genre where you can’t tell where one artist begins and the other ends.
Aaron “Fresh” Knight is a media personality, who is currently working as a radio personality for KUTX 98.9 in Austin, TX. He co-hosts Austin’s top Hip Hop and R&B radio show, The Breaks. Knight runs his own top rated music blog with, Fresh Prince of the ATX, and has done some freelance writing for various platforms. Knight is community oriented by speaking to the youth of Austin at various schools, as well as working with Boys and Girls Club of the Austin Area. In 2017, Knight along with his co-host Confucius Jones, was named “Blacks in Public Media You Should Know.”
Brighton, UK-ENGLAND Rock
Founded in London in 1976, the pioneering four-piece outfit Wire introduced themselves to the world a year later with the release of their debut album Pink Flag. Released two years before the debut of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, this trailblazing effort helped set the template for various hardcore punk, post-punk and alternative rock acts in the coming decades. Songs from the project have been covered by numerous artists, from harcore punk icons such as Henry Rollins and Minor Threat, to influential alternative rock acts such as R.E.M. Despite their veteran status, the band released six studio albums during the past decade, with each record pushing the band’s sound forward. Their most recent release, Mind Hive debuted in January of this year, and showcases the post-punk sounds that the band has continually defined and redefined for over four decades.